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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27196750">How Can I Not Fall In Love (Twice Over)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeventhMoonlitNight/pseuds/SeventhMoonlitNight'>SeventhMoonlitNight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cool Aunt Adora, F/F, Kid Fic, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), POV Adora (She-Ra), catra is a tattoo artist, single mother Catra, soccer mom Catra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:00:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,271</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27196750</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeventhMoonlitNight/pseuds/SeventhMoonlitNight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>With the best friends and siblings in the world, on top of being successful and an aunt, Adora is set for life. The ever-present hole in her chest not withstanding, she's got everything she could ask for.</p>
<p>Well, here comes Catra and her kid to prove her wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>424</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“<em>I’m so sorry this is so last minute! I honestly cannot thank you enough for covering us, Adora!</em>”<br/><br/>Adora chuckles warmly into the phone, rolling her eyes good-heartedly. “It’s seriously not a problem, Glimmer. I didn’t have much on the calendar this weekend besides gym and some paperwork.” <br/><br/>“<em>Still, you are a life saver! It’s like I can’t let this one branch alone for five minutes before they burn everything to the ground!</em>”<br/><br/>Adora lets out another laugh at the dramatics of her best friend but she understands. After all, being a CEO herself, she can relate to what her friend is going through as the VP of her father’s company. <br/><br/>“I get it. It’s totally okay, Glim.”<br/><br/>Having to leave to take care of a meltdown at one of the branches in a town just over ten hours away during the weekend was probably the worst thing to happen. Specially if Glimmer also has to take her husband Bow with her to fix some of the engineering issues that caused the branch manager to freak out.<br/><br/>That leaves their son Angel without someone to take him to his Saturday soccer game.<br/><br/>Enter best-friend-aunt-godmother-extraordinaire Adora Grayskull. <br/><br/>The blonde smiles down at her six-year-old nephew, who is clutching her other hand and skipping down the sidewalk alongside her.<br/><br/>“Besides, who wouldn’t want to spend a whole weekend with this champ? We’re gonna have the best sleepover known to man!” <br/><br/>Angel grins up at her words, pumping his free hand into the air.<br/><br/>“Yeah, Aunt ‘Dora! We’re gonna have ice cream and pizza and watch movies really late like – like until midnight! But, uh, not scary movies ‘cause then I can’t sleep, and Dad says sleep is what helps me grow super tall like you!”<br/><br/>Adora throws her head back to laugh – honestly, she’s only 5’11’’ –  and she vaguely hears Glimmer snicker in her phone as she lets go of Angel’s hand to run hers through his unruly curls. <br/><br/>“Got it, little dude. No scary movies. Which one should we watch then?”<br/><br/>Angel sticks his tongue out in thought for a moment before his eyes light up and he grins again.<br/><br/>“Mean Girls!”<br/><br/>Adora sputters in amusement and she hears Glimmer groan.<br/><br/>“<em>Bow is convinced he has to teach Angel the classics. Last month, it was all about Bring It On!</em>”<br/><br/>The blonde shakes her head and smiles down at the kid. “Alright, kid, we’ll watch Mean Girls tonight. But only if you have the best time at the games today!”<br/><br/>Angel suddenly gives her a very serious look and nods solemnly with a salute, which only amuses Adora more but she thinks he got that from her so she won’t comment on it.<br/><br/>“Yes, ma’am!”<br/><br/>Okay, yeah, he definitely learned that from her.<br/><br/>Adora looks up to see they’ve arrived at the field where the soccer games are being held today. She turns her attention back to her phone. <br/><br/>“Hey, Glim, we’re here so I’m gonna let you go so you can head back to work.”<br/><br/>A groan. “<em>But you’re my excuse to take a break from this mess.</em>”<br/><br/>“Sorry but I wanna cheer this little man on when he plays,”<br/><br/>There’s a beat of silence from the other end and Adora, knowing what’s coming next, winces slightly.<br/><br/>“<em>You know, you’re gonna make a great mom one day, Adora.</em>”<br/><br/>The blonde grimaces and reaches up to rub the back of her neck. She glances down at Angel, sees he’s more focused on the kids playing in front of them than her, and sighs into the phone.<br/><br/>“I don’t even have a partner, Glimmer. I don’t think right now is the time to be thinking about having kids. Besides, business is booming and I – “<br/><br/>“ – <em>Don’t have time. I know, Adora. It doesn’t make my opinion any less true.</em>”<br/><br/>Adora frowns slightly and lowers her eyes. <br/><br/>Glimmer and Bow decided at the age of 20 that they were ready for kids after being married for two years. By 21, Angel was born. At 23, they had little Emily, who was currently on a shopping spree with her sister Mara. Now, at 27, they’re trying again.<br/><br/>Adora, also at 27, has only ever had one serious girlfriend since she came out at 15 and she has no plan on changing her single status anytime soon.<br/><br/>The thing is that Glimmer and Bow knew they were <em>it</em> for each other when they were 12. They’ve known each other since they were toddlers, Glimmer supporting Bow as he transitioned, and they were there for each other as they overcame everything that stood in their way. Glimmer losing her mom at 16, as awful and horrible as that was, pushed them apart then back together, like they were meant to be.<br/><br/>They compliment each other in all the perfect ways, and bring the best out in each other.<br/><br/>When Adora met them in college during Intro to Business, she immediately knew they were gonna be together for the rest of their lives.<br/><br/>And them inviting Adora into their duo in order to become a trio was the best thing that has ever happened to her.<br/><br/>Other than becoming an aunt, of course.<br/><br/>Adora tunes back into the conversation and smiles softly. “I know, Glimmer, and I appreciate you thinking that. I’m gonna go now, though, and watch the game so you can get back to work.”<br/><br/>Glimmer sighs on the other side, “<em>Alright. Call me when it’s over so I can congratulate Angel. Love you guys.</em>”<br/><br/>“We love you, too. Call you later.”<br/><br/>Angel, hearing the phone call about to end, jumps onto his tiptoes and screams, “Bye mom!” Adora grins and hands him her phone.<br/><br/>“<em>Bye, Angel. Be good for Aunt ‘Dora, okay?</em>”<br/><br/>“Okay, mom, I love you! Tell dad I said hi!”<br/><br/>Glimmer chuckles, “<em>Okay, honey. I love you. Goodbye.</em>”<br/><br/>Angel passes the phone back to Adora and grins up at her. She smiles as she ruffles his hair again and points towards the field. “Go have fun, little dude. I’ll be cheering you on from the bleachers, okay?”<br/><br/>He beams at her again and turns to run to his team, who has been gathering at the edge of one of the four soccer fields. She eyes his purple and black uniform, catches sight of the number 6 on his back and walks over to the set of bleachers closest to his side of the field. <br/><br/>Adora lets her eyes roam through the park. She sees the park is organized into four small sections of soccer fields. About half a dozen sets of teams are running around setting up for a game or warming up or are already playing. The teams are of different ages, all starting around 5 years up to 15. Each team competing against another of the same age.<br/><br/>She thinks everything seems to be running smoothly and is pretty well organized. Parents and children alike seem to be enjoying themselves.<br/><br/>She’s glad as she’s the one who organized and set up this place.<br/><br/>Adora glances at the building two blocks behind the field, towering over the rest of the buildings in the area. Her chest swells with pride at the pristine building. <br/><br/>Bring Moon’s Sports Complex is her pride and joy. Her parents, back when they were alive, were in charge of it. When they died, her older sister Mara took charge of it. However, Mara had just turned eighteen, graduated high school and was gonna attend the University of Eternia a continent away to study medicine. <br/><br/>Suddenly being in charge of one of the best sports centers in the world, at only eighteen and knowing nothing about running a business, as well as taking her care of her younger twin siblings, Mara soon crumbled under the pressure. She disappeared overnight, leaving only a note for her siblings and a business lady named Hope in charge of the company until Adora and Adam were old enough to run their parents’ business. <br/><br/>The twins were then left in the care of their grandmother Razz at ten. The sports center crumbled under Hope’s very stiff management and was little more than a basketball court and running track by the end. Adora and Adam had vowed to take the complex and bring it back to its former glory when they graduated. <br/><br/>Mara returned eight years later, when the twins graduated high school, with a medical degree and full of apologies. It took the three of them a while, but they were able to push past all the burdens and blame and anger to come together as a family again. Adora then went to Bright Moon University for business and Adam went as a fitness and sports major.<br/><br/>Now, Adora is the official CEO of Bright Moon Sports Complex, the best sports center on the continent of Etheria, while Adam teaches self-defense classes and is a fitness instructor a floor under her. He fills in as head of the company whenever she’s out of town or on her days off, like today. Mara is happy just being the doctor on hand whenever the facility is open.<br/><br/>Adora and Adam used to play soccer side by side during middle school, high school and college so seeing families coming together to watch their kids play a sport her parents taught her as a child tugs at her heart.<br/><br/>She’s suddenly taken out of her daydreams when a soccer ball slams roughly into her abdomen. Her arms immediately come up to hold onto the ball as she wheezes, wide eyes looking around for the culprit behind the kick.<br/><br/>“Finn!” A scratchy voice catches her attention and she turns her head to the owner. <br/><br/>Adora’s breath leaves her body in surprise for the second time in as many minutes.<br/><br/>A cat-human hybrid is standing rigidly with her arms crossed in front of her chest, hip cocked to the side and a frown marring her features. She’s tapping her foot, both of which are bare, as she stares down someone in front of her. The ears on the top of her head are standing straight up in agitation, tail lashing behind her. Her mostly slicked back short hair has a few bangs that keep falling into her eyes, which are blue and gold, and are narrowed as she talks to the person in front of her rapidly. <br/><br/><em>‘Wow.’</em><br/><br/>Adora’s wide eyes take in the woman then look at the figure in front of her. Another cat-human hybrid, this one obviously still a kitten, with pale blonde fur compared to the woman’s tawny shade. The kid’s short blonde hair is swept to the side, ears - one of which is nicked at the top - drooping low and tail limp behind them. Shoulders are bunched up by the jaw in shame.<br/><br/>Suddenly, the woman’s eyes are on Adora, who startles into sitting up straight in her seat. The woman points at the blonde and the kitten’s pale blue eyes land on her, as well. <br/><br/>Adora waves at them awkwardly, uncertain as to what to do with their attention on her. <br/><br/>The woman says something to the kid, who nods and starts heading Adora’s way. She swallows slightly, attention split between the approaching hybrid and the beautiful woman behind them.<br/><br/>The kid stops in front of her, slumps in a bit more and looks sideways. “I – uh, I’m sorry. About the ball. Uh, hitting you.” The kid winces as if in pain, fang poking out under a lip. <br/><br/>The woman behind them clears her throat roughly, making the kid’s grimace grow and ears droop more, if possible. Adora’s eyebrows furrow as she watches the kid obviously struggle under both women’s gazes for a moment. She shifts in her seat a bit, gripping the ball in her hands a bit harder.<br/><br/>The kitten’s eyes follow her movements and suddenly, as if gaining courage out of nowhere, they straighten up. Looking into Adora’s gray-blue eyes, the kid says, “I’m sorry about kicking the ball so hard at you. It was aimed at my friend, but I kicked it too hard and fast for her to catch it and hit you instead. For that, I’m really sorry.”<br/><br/>Adora blinks at the apology, looks down at the ball then back up at the kid. She smiles slightly and holds out the ball. “Don’t sweat it, kid. We’ve all accidentally hit someone while playing. Thanks for apologizing.” She glances at who she assumes is the mother than back at the kid. <br/><br/>Ears still drooping but shoulders are now where they’re supposed to be and head is tilted to the side slightly.<br/><br/>“Besides, you don’t have to apologize for talent. That was a killer kick. Just be careful with your aiming next time.” Adora looks down at the kid’s paws, sees little caps taped to claws with bandages around the arch for protection and grins up at them. “Try to kick with the side of your paw next time. For a field as small as this one, it’s more ideal so you’ll have less power but more control over the aim.”<br/><br/>Adora watches as the blonde’s ears immediately stand straight up, tail starting to move side to side at the advice and compliment. A small grin plasters itself on the kid’s face and they look behind to their mom.<br/><br/>She raises an eyebrow, hip still cocked with arms crossed, but her ears aren’t as tense, and her tail has stopped lashing. <br/><br/>The kid looks back to Adora, grin growing. “Thanks! I’ll be more careful next time.” With that, they grab their ball, turn around and run back to the brunette. <br/><br/>Adora smiles gently after them, watching as the brunette ruffles the kid’s neatly swept hair with a proud smile and pushes them towards the field. <br/><br/>It’s situations like these that really make Adora wish she had her own family. Heart-warming moments with kids make her want to go out and just adopt one, regardless of becoming a single mother. <br/><br/>But she knows that having kids is hard work, and while she’s ready to shower another being with the love of a mother, she knows she doesn’t have time to do that now that her business is taking off internationally across the sea to Eternia. <br/><br/>“I’m really sorry about Finn.”<br/><br/>Adora startles out of her thoughts again but this time it’s because of a scratchy voice registering. She looks up to see the brunette hybrid has made her way towards her, smiling sheepishly down at her.<br/><br/><em>‘Oh, double wow.’</em><br/><br/>Adora blinks owlishly at the woman for a moment before shaking her head to kick start it back up. <br/><br/><em>‘C’mon, Grayskull, now is not the time to be a lesbian disaster.’</em><br/><br/>Adora blushes slightly and reaches up to rub the back of her neck. “Oh, it’s nothing. You’d be surprised by how many times you can get hit by a wayward flying object if you come to these shindigs enough.”<br/><br/><em>‘Really, Adora, shindigs? Geez, I should not be allowed outside the office.’</em><br/><br/>The woman raises a brow, “You come here often, then? I haven’t seen you around before.”<br/><br/>Adora grins up at her from her seat. “Not usually on Saturdays but I’ll stop by practice during the week and just watch the kids play.”<br/><br/>The brunette’s other eyebrow goes up in surprise. Adora replays back her words and grimaces. <br/><br/><em>‘Abort, abort!’<br/><br/></em>“What I mean is – uh, that’s not how I meant. I’m – uh,” Adora huffs out a nervous laugh, glances around to where Angel is doing warmups with his team and points that way. “Him. He’s, uh, mine. Well, not <em>mine</em> mine but uh, he’s with me.”<br/><br/><em>‘Damn, Grayskull, one pretty lady and your brain turns to mush.’</em><br/><br/>Adora takes a deep breath to calm her nerves and smiles up at the woman. “I’m sorry, I’m not usually as uncoordinated as this.” The blonde turns to look towards Angel again. “He’s my godson. Usually his parents bring him to the games but they’re out of town so I’m here.”<br/><br/>The brunette hums but she still seems a bit uncomfortable so Adora clears her throat and points at the sports complex in the distance. “I’m the CEO of BMSC. I’m kind of in charge of this whole set up so I drop by to check on it every now and then.”<br/><br/>The hybrid takes her in for another moment before finally relaxing. She sits down by her and turns to watch the kid warm up with their team. “Makes sense.”<br/><br/>Adora grins, eyes on Angel as his team gets ready to start a game. She glances sideways briefly before focusing on her godson again. “I’m Adora, by the way.”<br/><br/>The brunette hums again and turns her head to the blonde slightly. “Catra, and that’s Finn.” She reaches up to push the wayward bangs out of her face. “Again, sorry about them. I’m still trying to teach them manners. It’s been a rough process.”<br/><br/>Adora turns to watch Finn for a moment, watching as they laugh with their friend as they stretch. “They seem like a nice kid.”<br/><br/>Catra huffs out a laugh, head lolling back as she splays on her seat. “They can be a pain in my ass,” she says fondly, pulling a smile from the blonde. “But I never thought I’d love another person as much as I love them.”<br/><br/>Adora looks back towards Angel, eyes narrowing in thought. As much as she loves Angel and Emily, they’re not really hers. She’s just their godmother. So, she can’t really relate to the pride, the parental love just pouring out of the woman’s words.<br/><br/>The wrenching in her gut, though familiar, isn’t really welcome right now. <br/><br/>Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, Adora pushes on with the conversation. “I can only imagine. Angel and his sister Emily are in no way related to me but they’re like the light of my life.”<br/><br/>Catra smiles softly at her in understanding before throwing her head back with a laugh, high and squeaky. Adora watches her with wide eyes, awestruck.<br/><br/>“Don’t get me wrong, it took a long while for Finn to warm up to me. Took even longer for them to consider me as their mother. It was like pulling teeth getting them to call me mom.” Catra lets out another squeaky laugh and Adora lets out a sudden breath.<br/><br/><em>‘Oh, no. I’m in trouble.’</em><br/><br/>“But once they were comfortable with me and their new home, it was all they could say for like two weeks. The happiness just radiating out of that kid was so overwhelmingly beautiful. I’d give up everything just to make sure they’re always that happy.”<br/><br/>Adora, in her 27 years of life on this planet, never thought that she’d be absolutely smitten with someone talking solely about their kid. Like, she’s had her few weird crushes here and there – even was into someone who’d probably crush her skull and drink whiskey out of it if given the chance – but this was not a thing she’d ever thought would happen to her. <br/><br/>It seems Adora’s silence is noticed because Catra glances at her out of the corner of her eye and chuckles nervously. “Sorry I’m talking just about Finn. They’re just…my whole world right now.”<br/><br/>Adora shakes her head rapidly, “No, no! It’s totally okay! I’d love to hear more about Finn.”<br/><br/>Catra’s ears droop a little in embarrassment. “Yeah? It’s not too much?”<br/><br/>The blonde frowns, looks into mismatched eyes and nods resolutely. “You should never apologize for loving your kid and wanting to talk about them, much less their accomplishments.”<br/><br/>The brunette seems to let out a breath, shoulders relaxing slightly. “Thanks. I’m sure my friends are tired of hearing about Finn all day, every day.” She smirks, eyes flashing with mirth. “Being a single mother to an adopted eight-year-old isn’t the easiest thing in the world.”<br/><br/><em>‘Single? Oh, boy.’</em><br/><br/>Adora gulps, blue eyes roaming the other woman’s features. “There’s not a – uh, so you’ve been raising Finn all by yourself?” At her nod, Adora bites her lip. “Wow, okay, you’re officially Wonder Woman.”<br/><br/>Catra laughs again and, honestly, if Adora were to die at that moment, she’d be happy with her last action being making a pretty woman like her laugh. <br/><br/>A cheer breaks out behind them, startling them out of the conversation. Adora looks up to see Angel’s team had scored a goal and she grins, standing up to call out encouragement at her godson.<br/><br/>Angel hears her, and he grins at her, waving. He trips over his shoe and ends up falling face first to the grass. Adora winces slightly, ready to go help him out but he just pops up to his feet as if nothing happened and waves at her again.<br/><br/>“I’m okay!” He calls out to her and turns to run back to his teammates.<br/><br/>Adora grins and sits back down, deciding that the ice cream he mentioned earlier was well deserved. <br/><br/>Catra giggles from beside her and follows Angel’s play with her eyes. “He’s adorable. You said he has a sister?”<br/><br/>“Yeah, she’s only four. My sister Mara took her on a shopping spree because she usually can’t keep still during the games. She tries to play along with Angel.” <br/><br/>“Ah, so she’s the rascal.”<br/><br/>“Every bit her mother,” Adora says fondly, thinking back to all the trouble Glimmer would get her and Bow into during college. Emily is just like her mother, short-temper and all. Angel is all Bow himself. Perfect kids for the perfect couple.<br/><br/>Honestly, Adora envies them sometimes for having their life so put together but she’d never tell them that.<br/><br/>“What about you?” Adora tunes back into the conversation and blinks at Catra in question.<br/><br/>“What about me?”<br/><br/>Catra takes her eyes off Finn to look at her. “Do you have plans on having kids anytime soon, if you want any?”<br/><br/>Adora reaches up to rub the back of her neck, eyes trailing over to Angel as he defends against his opponents. Her eyes follow his movements absentmindedly, storing some of his moves away for later to correct, and sighs.<br/><br/>“Preferably, I’d have a significant other first before having any children but it’s kind of hard with my job right now. I would love to one day, but I don’t think it’s in the cards at the moment.”<br/><br/>Catra eyes her for a moment then shrugs a single shoulder. “If there’s a will, there’s a way.”<br/><br/>Adora smiles grimly at the ground. <br/><br/><em>‘That easy, huh?’</em><br/><br/><strong>x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x<br/><br/></strong>“But why can’t I go with you?” Angel pulls out the pout. <br/><br/>Normally, Adora can’t resist it but Glimmer is immune to it by this point and shuts that down.<br/><br/>“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but it’s a grownups thing only. We’ll show you after, okay?” Glimmer leans down to press a kiss on the boy’s forehead then screams into the house. “Bow! We’re leaving!”<br/><br/>A clatter comes from the kitchen, followed by Bow’s voice. “Okay! Have fun! I love you guys!”<br/><br/>A shrill voice follows. “Bye, mama! Bye, ‘Dora! ‘Wuv you!”<br/><br/>Adora watches a soft smile grace Glimmer’s lips before she screams back, “I love you both!” She turns back to Angel and ruffles his curls. “And I love you. Lock the door behind us, yeah?”<br/><br/>Angel nods sadly and Adora barely gets to yell a goodbye before Glimmer pushes her out to the driveway, the door closing and locking behind them. <br/><br/>Once on the road, Glimmer turns to her. “Are you excited?”<br/><br/>Adora shrugs and pulls at her fingers. “I was last week. Now I’m thinking about having needles that close to my face and I’m not so sure.”<br/><br/>Glimmer pouts and Adora can’t help but think how much Angel looks like her at that moment. “What? But you already paid the deposit! And I promise you, it’s really not that bad.” <br/><br/>Adora thinks of the giant wings on Glimmer’s back, remembers how many hours she spent laying on that tattoo table and grimaces.<br/><br/>“I know but you know I always get nervous before something big happens.”<br/><br/>Glimmer hums in agreement and soon after, they’re pulling up to the tattoo shop, The Horde.<br/><br/>Adora takes a deep breath and gets out of the car, Glimmer following her inside the shop. <br/><br/>Their friend Perfuma’s girlfriend owns the tattoo shop as well as works there as an artist. Unfortunately, Scorpia was booked until November, so Perfuma referred them to Scorpia’s best friend who just moved into the city and started working for her at the studio. After seeing the few pictures of this Wildcat’s works, Adora was convinced and said yes. Perfuma was able to set everything up within minutes so Adora didn’t back out.<br/><br/>Now here she is, ready to get her first ever tattoo. And she’s not nervous, not at all, she’s just sweating cause it’s really hot outside. <br/><br/>A blonde lanky man looks up from his laptop to grin at them. “Hi! Welcome to the Horde! I’m Kyle, what can I help you with?”<br/><br/>Adora swallows harshly and it takes a well-placed elbow from Glimmer to get her walking towards Kyle. <br/><br/>“Uh, yeah, I’m here for an appointment. Name’s Adora,” she stutters through her explanation, wincing internally at her nerves.<br/><br/>Okay, so maybe she’s dying a bit inside but that’s fine.<br/><br/>Kyle types something on his laptop then smiles up at her. “I gotcha. I’m gonna have you fill this sheet out and sign it on the back for me. You ate something beforehand, right?” At her nod, he beams again. “Great! I’ll go get your artist while you fill that out. Be right back.”<br/><br/>Adora and Glimmer sit at the reception area, the blonde crossing her leg over the other to fill out the papers. Glimmer watches over her shoulder for a moment before getting bored and reaching for one of the many tattoo books lining the table in front of them.<br/><br/>Adora is so focused on her paper that she misses the footsteps heading their way. It’s not until she hears a very particular voice that her concentration breaks.<br/><br/>“Hey, Adora,”<br/><br/>The blonde snaps her head up instantly, eyes wide as she takes in the woman in front of her. <br/><br/>The woman she may or may not have been dreaming about for the last two weeks.<br/><br/><em>‘Stars help me.’</em><br/><br/>“Catra, hi,” Adora breathes, paper forgotten as she stands to greet her.<br/><br/>Catra smirks and places a hand on her hip. “When Perfuma reached out to me last week about some chick named Adora, I was hoping it’d be you.” Her eyes fall to the paper hanging from her hand and reaches out for it. “I can take that from you.”<br/><br/>Adora, still in a bit of shock and awe that she’s somehow run into this magnificent woman twice, hands over her waiver silently. <br/><br/>Catra glances over the paper quickly then hands it to Kyle, who heads to the front desk to file it. “I’ve got everything set up in the back whenever you’re ready. Your friend can come, too, if you’d like.”<br/><br/>Glimmer, who up to this point was content in watching Adora gay panic, stands and holds out her hand. “I’m Glimmer, Adora’s best friend and moral support. I also have full authority to smack her silly if she passes out from seeing the needle.”<br/><br/>Well, if Adora wasn’t already red, she’d surely be now. <br/><br/>Damnit, Glimmer.<br/><br/>Catra laughs and shakes her hand. “Well, she wouldn’t be the first client who passes out in the chair. C’mon, let’s go on back.” Catra turns to walk down the hallway leading to the back, waving at Kyle as she does. <br/><br/>Glimmer gives a hard shove to Adora’s shoulder and she finally snaps out of it, glaring at her friend as she follows the magicat. <br/><br/>Catra walks them to a room in the back and closes the door behind them. She motions for Glimmer to sit at a chair in the corner while she heads over to the desk on the other side. She pats the table in the middle of the room on her way and gestures for the blonde to lay down.<br/><br/>Adora takes a deep breath, locks eyes with Glimmer and lays down on her back. Catra reaches for a piece of paper on her desk and leans over Adora, paper hanging over her eyesight.<br/><br/>“What do you think? I’m adding a few watercolors to it but if you wanna make any adjustments, let me know.”<br/><br/>Adora stares at the drawing, breath catching in her throat.<br/><br/>It’s a simple tattoo. It’s a constellation, thin lines connecting stars that form the vague shape of a heart. With two squares, one filled in and the other blank, and a diamond below the filled in square. <br/><br/>The sides represent two different families, connected together to be one by the v-shaped line, which represent her parents. The squares, which are identical in size and are parallel to each other, represent Adora and Adam. The diamond is Mara, which is different because she was adopted by her parents back when they thought they couldn’t have kids before they had her and Adam.<br/><br/>The constellation, aptly named The Heart, was a present from the twins and Mara to their parents on their 20th anniversary back when they were 8 and 16. Her parents took cartography as a hobby when the twins took an interest in astrology after a science trip in elementary school. The Heart became a family symbol to them, and the siblings all have a mug with the symbol on it.<br/><br/>It's one of the most precious memories Adora has of her parents and she intends on getting it inked on herself for the rest of her life.<br/><br/>And although the drawing has a few more lines, outside of the original constellation, Adora thinks it’s the best thing in the world.<br/><br/>“It’s perfect,” she breathes, eyes welling with tears and throat tightening. <br/><br/>Catra stares at her for a moment then smiles down gently at her and leans back. “Alright, hotshot, where on your chest do you want it?”<br/><br/>There was no doubt about the placement. “Over my heart.”<br/><br/>The magicat nods in understanding and peels a layer off the drawing. “Take your shirt off for me and tuck your bra strap under your arm.” Adora does as she told, handing Glimmer her shirt. <br/><br/>Catra pulls some gloves on, slathers some ointment on her fingers and turns back to Adora. She waves a tiny razor back and forth. “Gonna shave the spot then put this on. Stay very still for me.” <br/><br/>Adora tenses a bit, holding her breath as Catra leans in close to her to rub the ointment on her skin. She then places the paper with the drawing on and presses down on it. Their eyes meet briefly and Adora feels her cheeks redden. <br/><br/>She’s sure the woman can feel her heart thudding rapidly against her skin.<br/><br/>Gay panicking. That’s definitely not what she’s doing. She’s totally acting normal. It’s cool.<br/><br/>Catra leans back and tosses the paper away. She turns to her desk to brandish a small mirror and hands it to the blonde. <br/><br/>“Have a look.”<br/><br/>Adora stares at the drawing on her chest, hands shaking as she traces the lines with her eyes. It’s not even on her yet, and she knows it’ll be one of the best decisions of her life.<br/><br/>Glimmer reaches out a hand to her in support and Adora grips it tightly, nodding wordlessly to the tattoo artist that it’s perfect. <br/><br/>Catra grins and sits down on her spinning chair, back to them as she sets to work in filling little caps with ink and setting up her gun. <br/><br/>Adora looks to Glimmer, who wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and makes a crude gesture towards Catra that has Adora’s eyes widening and cheeks flaming red.<br/><br/>A sudden buzz has Adora snapping back to attention as Catra turns towards her and moves closer, needle gun in her hand and ointment on her fingers. “Okay, here we go.”<br/><br/>The first touch of the needle feels cold, and it spreads throughout her body. The buzzing makes her skin vibrate and she feels her free hand shaking along with the rhythm of the needle piercing her skin. <br/><br/>After the first swipe of a paper towel, though, Adora has relaxed and now she’s more focused on the woman above her than the needle. <br/><br/>She feels like her heart is picking up speed at the proximity of the other woman. From this view, she can probably count the faint freckles dotted on the bridge of her nose. She wishes she had a pen to be able to map all the constellations she can find on her skin. <br/><br/><em>‘That’s not creepy. Quick, think of something to say!’<br/><br/></em>Clearing her suddenly dry throat, Adora speaks up. “So, uh, come here often?”<br/><br/><em>‘Ah, shit.’<br/><br/></em>Adora can hear Glimmer snort behind her and Catra flashes a grin, fangs on display. “Only every day of my life.” She doesn’t break focus but now that the ice is broken, Catra continues the conversation. “How’re Angel and Emily?”<br/><br/>Glimmer perks up, eyes coming up from her phone. Adora smiles at the thought of her godchildren. “They’re great. Angel really wanted to come but I don’t think he’d be able to handle sitting still for so long.”<br/><br/>Glimmer laughs and waves her hand towards them. “More like he’ll pass out the moment he sees the needle. It’s such a struggle taking him to the doctor when it’s time to shots.”<br/><br/>Catra huffs a small laugh. “Tell me about it. I brought Finn here once and they fainted the moment they saw blood. They refuse to come within a hundred feet of the shop now.”<br/><br/>Adora grins, “How is Finn? Still kicking balls into strangers’ stomachs?” <br/><br/>The blonde catches the gentle smile that adorns the brunette’s face at the mention of her kid. “They’re okay. A little nervous about starting third grade in a new school in a couple of weeks.”<br/><br/>Adora hums, thinking back to her youth. “I remember getting into so much trouble when I was in elementary school. Well, usually it was my twin brother Adam getting me into trouble and needing me to get us both out of it.”<br/><br/>“Twins? Oh, I feel sorry for your folks.”<br/><br/>Adora laughs but tries not to move too much. “Yeah, and Mara didn’t exactly help. Impulsiveness kind of runs in the family.” <br/><br/>Catra grins and locks eyes with her, “Why does that not surprise me?”<br/><br/>Feeling her cheeks heat up at the playfulness in those mismatched eyes, Adora chuckles in embarrassment and lowers her gaze.<br/><br/>She feels her phone buzz in her pocket and carefully takes it out. She sees a message from Glimmer so with furrowed eyebrows, she opens it.<br/><br/><strong><em>GlimBomb: </em></strong><em>[attachment: 2 images]<br/><br/>ur so gay and ur welcome</em><br/><br/>The first picture is of Catra and Adora looking at each other with grins on their faces. The second is of Catra focusing on her work but with a gentle smile on her face. It was probably taken when she was talking about Finn. The pictures have filters on them so Glimmer is definitely taking this seriously.<br/><br/>Adora can’t move her head to glare at her best friend so she texts back.<br/><br/><strong><em>Adora-ble: </em></strong><em>stop it<br/><br/>she’s literally right there<br/><br/>y r u like this<br/><br/></em>But despite her words, Adora clicks on save.</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, everyone! Psych class is kicking my ass along with work so I'm so sorry it's taking forever to get updates from me. But I've not forgotten any of my stories! They're just updating slower than I'd like.</p>
<p>I love writing the kids and Adora's gay panicking so much, I didn't think I'd have this much fun with it.</p>
<p>Anyways, enjoy this next installment!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“Here’s my card and number. Call me if you need anything or want another tat.”</em><br/><br/>Two weeks. The card has been burning a hole in her wallet for two weeks now. The number is engraved in her brain now and she doesn’t think she’d ever forget it.<br/><br/>Question is, is Adora actually gonna call this goddess of a woman? Probably not. Like, come on, she’s a gay disaster. She doesn’t have the nerves to hit her up. <br/><br/>She’s just fine with pining from afar.<br/><br/>So what if she’s come to soccer practices during the week more often now? It’s part of her job, checking up on these things. It’s definitely, totally not because she’s been hoping to run into a certain magicat again. <br/><br/>Glimmer would say otherwise.<br/><br/>Okay, yes, <em>maybe</em> she doesn’t have the guts to deliberately text the woman, but she wouldn’t be opposed to running into her again. Completely on accident. At the place where they first met. <br/><br/>Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened yet during the week. So, with the excuse of taking time off – her assistant Spinnerella looked at her like she grew an extra two feet in height when she told her to clear her schedule this weekend – she’s now accompanying Glimmer and Bow to Angel’s soccer practice on a Saturday.<br/><br/>Now Bow definitely joins in on the teasing with Glimmer.<br/><br/>“I’m just saying,” Glimmer waves her hands around, snapping Adora out of her thoughts. “You have her number, you should just call her.”<br/><br/>Adora groans, throwing her head back. This makes Emily giggle on her shoulders, leaning over to slap her hands on her vibrating cheeks. <br/><br/>Bow just chuckles and throws his unoccupied arm around his wife’s shoulders. “When have you ever seen Adora act accordingly when it comes to women?”<br/><br/>“Bow! You’re not helping!”<br/><br/>Glimmer sighs, “Honestly, if I wasn’t happily married with children, I would’ve bagged a woman like her in a heartbeat.”<br/><br/>Bow snorts in amusement while Adora just glares.<br/><br/>“Lucky for me, you <em>are</em> married with children.”<br/><br/>“You won’t be getting lucky anytime soon if you don’t text her.”<br/><br/>“Glimmer!” <br/><br/>The married couple cackle at Adora’s red cheeks. Emily laughs along with the sound of her parents’ glee and Angel grins up at all of them from where he’s holding onto Bow.<br/><br/>Even children are laughing at her, despite not knowing the context of the conversation.<br/><br/>“Listen, she gave me her number ‘cause she was being professional. I’m not gonna text her just because I wanna get to know her better. That’s, like, super creepy.”<br/><br/>Glimmer rolls her eyes and pokes at her bicep. “All I’m saying is, Scorpia didn’t give <em>me</em> her contact info when she gave me my first tat.”<br/><br/>Adora swats her hand away, “You already <em>had</em> Scorpia’s number. We were all friends by that point.”<br/><br/>“Semantics.”<br/><br/>The blonde groans again, choosing to ignore her best friend in order to focus on the toddler on her shoulders. She shrugs her shoulders while bouncing in place, jostling her niece. “Your mommy is being mean to me, so you’re my new best friend, Emily.”<br/><br/>The toddler wraps her tiny arms around her head, obscuring some of her vision. “I be Dora’s best friend!”<br/><br/>Adora grins up at her and reaches up to smother her in her arms, receiving a squeal from her niece. “You sure are! The bestest friend in the entire world!”<br/><br/>Angel hops in from Bow’s side, “I wanna be Adora’s best friend, too!”<br/><br/>The blonde feels her heart swell up with affection and reaches down with one arm to scoop up the six-year-old to tuck him against her chest. Now with her arms full of the Anders-Akiyama children, Adora bounces on the ball on her feet. “You’re both my best friends! Now let’s beat mom and dad to the fields!”<br/><br/>The children cheer as she suddenly takes off running down the sidewalk, laughter from both parents and children chasing her all the way to the benches where she can see the games.<br/><br/>She stops running, a giggling four-year-old attached to her head and Angel with his arms wrapped around her neck and his sister’s legs. <br/><br/>“Again, again!” Emily giggles but Adora knows that if she hypes up the toddler even more, there’s no way to calm her down after, not until she crashes.<br/><br/>“Later, when we leave, we’ll race to the cars.” The blonde negotiates, reaching up with one hand to pluck her off her shoulders and hold both children in her arms properly. She sees a pout forming on Emily’s face and proceeds to nuzzle into her cheek to keep her giggling.<br/><br/>Her face is grabbed again, fingers digging around her ears as she blows raspberries into Emily’s cheek. With her other hand, she mindlessly digs her fingers into Angel’s side, drawing a squeal of laughter from him. <br/><br/>Adora loves spoiling her godchildren, loves spending time with them and treating them like they’re the center of her universe. In some ways, that’s true, they mean everything to her. But there’s also a part of her that wants to shower them in attention because, as a child, she lost that very early in life.<br/><br/>Her and Adam have always been close, roughhousing whenever they see each other, even now in their late twenties, and a lot of tough love between them. Mara is more nurturing, gentler with them both, but she wasn’t really present while they were growing up. And their grandmother Razz, while raising them after their parents died, wasn’t smothering them with her love, either.<br/><br/>This has lead to Adora showering the two kids with her love, presence, and care in a way she wishes she had been when she was younger. What little she remembers from her time with her parents powers her to care for these two as if they were her own. <br/><br/>So, yeah, she definitely spoils the two of them.<br/><br/>“Ah, I see you’re the child whisperer.”<br/><br/>Oh.<br/><br/>Oh, no.<br/><br/>She’d recognize that voice anywhere now.<br/><br/>Adora stops nuzzling a giggling Emily’s cheek, and looks up to lock eyes with the beautiful blue and yellow gaze that’s been haunting her daydreams. A glance down makes her look into another pair of bright blue eyes. <br/><br/>The blonde straightens up, grip tightening on the kids automatically so she can safely hold onto them.<br/><br/>“Catra, hi, um –“ Adora glances down and grins a little, “Hey there, Finn.”<br/><br/>The blonde Magicat’s nicked right ear twitches and they move behind their mom’s leg slightly, apprehension in their eyes. <br/><br/>“Hey, Adora.” Catra greets, hand dropping onto Finn’s head softly to scratch behind their ears to comfort them. Her eyes drop from grayish blue to curly heads and brown eyes. “And these must be Angel and Emily.”<br/><br/>“That’s me!” Emily, seemingly recovering from the giggles, grins down at the older Magicat from her perch and raises a hand. <br/><br/>Angel, on the other hand, tucks himself further into Adora’s chest shyly but waves at them. His eyes fall on Finn and he smiles timidly. “I like your ears.”<br/><br/>Finn’s shoulders scrunch up slightly and their ears droop. Catra moves her hand from their head to their shoulder and pushes them out from behind her. <br/><br/>“Hey, it’s okay.” She whispers down to Finn, whose wide blue eyes stare up at her then over to Angel. Catra whispers another reassurance to them and their eyes narrow slightly over Angel.<br/><br/>Finn’s tail lashes as they take a step forward. “Thanks. I, uh, like your…earring?” They glance back at their mom, sees a warm smile on her face and turns back to Angel, hesitation now almost gone.<br/><br/>Angel lights up in Adora’s arm and she has to let him down to the ground after he starts fidgeting. He steps in front of Finn and grins, shyness gone. “Thanks! My mom and dad share a pair, and Emily and I share one, too! It’s a family addition!”<br/><br/>Adora snorts softly and leans over to tap Angel’s shoulder. “It’s tradition. A family tradition.” <br/><br/>The six-year-old nods seriously up at her then turns back to Finn. “Tr – tradition. That’s what it is.”<br/><br/>Finn stares at him in confusion then looks up at Catra. “What’s that?”<br/><br/>Catra smiles down at them, “A tradition is something that gets passed down from parent to child or something with meaning we continue doing over time.”<br/><br/>Adora watches as their nose scrunches up cutely and a smile involuntarily makes its way onto her face. Then she remembers that Finn is an orphan and her heart aches a little bit. Her eyes land on their nicked ear and a weird, hot sensation fills the pit of her stomach. She hopes that she’s just taking things out of proportion but if the topic of conversation is any clue, she’s doubtful Finn’s lead a great life until now.<br/><br/>Finn tilts their head in curiosity. “Do we have traditions?”<br/><br/>Catra nods and crouches down to be on their level. “You know how we go to DT’s house on Halloween to go trick or treating around the neighborhood every year? Or how we spend the holidays with Scorpia and climb all those pine trees after opening Christmas presents? Those are all traditions our little family has.”<br/><br/>Finn seems to light up at the mention of those traditions and, really, Adora shouldn’t be surprised at how adorable she finds the action. <br/><br/>Also, climbing trees together on Christmas? <br/><br/>She’s so charmed by them.<br/><br/>Finn turns back to Angel and grins, fangs on full display. “I have traditions, too. We like to climb Christmas trees – “<br/><br/>“Pine trees,”<br/><br/>“ – pine trees Christmas morning after we open presents. Then we curl up and watch movies inside cause it’s too cold outside after a long time.” Finn explains, smoothly correcting themselves after Catra’s input. <br/><br/>Angel gasps and jumps on his feet. “You get to climb trees? Dad and Adora like snowboarding and I want to join all the time but they say it’s for adults. Mom stays with me and Emily while we watch movies. What’s your favorite?” Angel steps closer to Finn in his excitement. <br/><br/>At this point, Finn seems comfortable enough in their presence and starts talking rapidly, answering any questions Angel throws their way.<br/><br/>Catra walks around to stand by Adora and they both watch the two get along. Emily squirms in her grip, eyes locked onto Catra’s ears. The Magicat snickers and leans her head slightly towards the toddler, who squeals and rubs her fingers through the tuft of fur surrounding the base of her ear.<br/><br/>Adora smiles at the four gently, her heart feeling like it’s about to beat right out of her chest. It’s the perfect moment, Angel and Finn excitedly talking about their favorite movies while Emily and Catra share a moment of wonder for the toddler.<br/><br/>Glimmer and Bow making their appearance snaps Adora out of her bubble. Glimmer locks eyes with the blonde after she catches sight of Catra and smirks. Bow seems like he’s ready to melt at the sight of a blonde Catra mini-me talking to his son.<br/><br/>“Hello again, Catra.”<br/><br/>“Hey, Sparkles,”<br/><br/>Glimmer huffs at the nickname, adapted after Catra had noticed literally everything about the shorter woman sparkled under her lights in the tattoo studio. Even her phone case had sparkles on it, and the glittery highlighter on her cheek didn’t help.<br/><br/>Bow steps up, offering a hand. “Hi, I’m Bow, Glimmer’s husband.” <br/><br/>Catra gently reaches up to untangle Emily’s hand from her ears and offers her hand up instead, the girl now squishing the paw pads on the tip of her fingers. With her free hand, Catra shakes Bow’s hand.<br/><br/>“I’m Catra, and this one is Finn.” <br/><br/>Finn stops at the mention of their name to wave up at the adults then continues their conversation with Angel. <br/><br/>A gentle but loud whistle stops any further conversation and has the two Magicats turning to one of the fields. A coach is waving them over. Catra gently removes her hand from Emily’s grasp and nudges Finn in the direction of the field.<br/><br/>“Alright, kitten, time to play. Go warmup with your teammates.” <br/><br/>Finn seems to hesitate, their eyes flitting between their mom and the rest of the adults. Catra only smiles down at them and pushes harder. “Go, they’re gonna start with or without you.”<br/><br/>With that in mind, Finn says a quick goodbye to Angel and runs over to their teammates.<br/><br/>“So,” Glimmer watches the kitten go then turns to Catra, steadily avoiding Adora’s knowing gaze. “Wanna sit with us? Angel’s game starts soon, as well, and it’d be great to get to know another one of Scorpia’s friends.”<br/><br/>Catra searches everyone’s faces, lingering on Adora’s for a second too long, then shrugs. “Sure, why not.” <br/><br/>The group goes to sit at the benches, Bow pointing towards Angel’s team and sending him on his way. Emily tries to go after him but Adora holds onto her, fingers absentmindedly poking at her ticklish sides. <br/><br/>Adora definitely doesn’t notice how Catra leans back on her seat, legs splaying before her as she stretches and takes up whatever space she deems hers. She definitely doesn’t find the way the sun seems to shine down on the brunette and highlight her features attractive.<br/><br/>The blonde definitely does zone out as Bow and Catra strike up a conversation. She focuses on her niece, helping her compare their hands together then tracing all the lines in her palms then watching as she does the same to her much larger hand. <br/><br/>Adora idly watches as Emily stops tracing the lines on her palm and reaches over to grab Catra’s hand. She startles into the present the moment the back of Catra’s hand is laid in her palm as Emily sets to trace the Magicat’s palm. She looks up to meet a mismatched gaze.<br/><br/>Catra smirks at her, “Hey, Adora.”<br/><br/>Words are currently hard for Adora to pronounce so she just smiles back lopsidedly. The brunette huffs a laugh, eyes moving to search for her kid in the field.<br/><br/>Adora stares at her side profile for a moment, only to startle again when Glimmer digs her elbow into her side. The blonde goes to reprimand her best friend when Catra turns back to her.<br/><br/>“How’s the tat healing up?”<br/><br/>Adora reaches up to pat her chest with her free hand. “It’s almost completely peeled. Still a little tender but it’s not too bad.”<br/><br/>“Good. Just keep putting a bit of the ointment I gave you on every day and it should heal up soon.” Catra hums and looks down to watch Emily. Adora also watches the toddler as she decides she’s tired of tracing lines and that it’s time to compare hands again.<br/><br/>Emily lines up Catra’s palm with Adora’s, traces the space where Adora’s fingers are longer and then places her much smaller hand palm up on top of Catra’s. Her small, entranced “woah” has Adora swallowing to clear up her suddenly tight throat.<br/><br/>Adora? Emotional over a little contact with another woman? More likely than you think.<br/><br/>Out of the corner of her eye, Adora can see Glimmer snapping photo after photo of them. <br/><br/>She looks up to see Catra’s reaction, only to be met with gold and blue eyes already staring at her. A small smile grazes Catra’s lips, and Adora can feel her heart picking up speed, her palms sweating and her toes curling in her sneakers. There’s a heat building in the back of her neck, spilling around into her chest as she keeps staring into a soft gaze.<br/><br/>Well.<br/><br/>Adora is definitely overwhelmed with emotions.<br/><br/>She blinks rapidly and turns her head to look out on the field, breathing ragged and uneven. Her eyes search for something to ground her in and they zero in on Finn kicking the ball with the arch of their foot.<br/><br/><em>‘Just like I taught them.’<br/></em><br/>A surge of pride overcomes the panic in her chest and with her free hand cupped around her mouth, she cheers them on. “You go, Finn! Just like that! You’re doing amazing!”<br/><br/>Finn startles slightly, looking over to meet her eyes. They slow down a bit, sees her grinning at them and grins back shyly. They wave at her and with a new bounce in their step, continue playing.<br/><br/>Adora turns to Catra again, who is now watching her kid play and breathes a sigh of relief at feeling the overpowering emotions recede. She watches the Magicat for a moment before looking back down at their hands. Emily is back to squishing the pads on Catra’s fingers again, entertaining herself with comparing them to her own fingertips.<br/><br/>Honestly, kids can find the strangest things to occupy their time.<br/><br/>Although she will admit she’s kind of jealous of Emily being able to just touch and hold Catra’s hands with no issue.<br/><br/>A phone started to ring, breaking the peaceful silence in the group. Catra digs into her pockets to grab her phone. Her eyes narrow at the screen and her voice comes out confused when she says, “Sorry, I have to take this.”<br/><br/>Adora watches her as she stands to walk a few paces away and answer her phone. <br/><br/>Glimmer suddenly drapes herself across Adora’s back, sighing dreamily. “Oh, to love and not know if they love me back.” <br/><br/>Emily stands on Adora’s thighs and jumps towards her mom, landing on her shoulder and sliding over to lay on her back. Glimmer tries to steady herself in order to not drop her daughter. <br/><br/>“I love you, Mama!”<br/><br/>Glimmer laughs and gets off Adora, reaching around to bring Emily into her chest and press kisses on her face. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”<br/><br/>Emily giggles, squirming in her arms and opens her brown eyes to look back at Adora. “I love you, Dora.”<br/><br/>Adora’s heart melts for the hundredth time that day. “I love you, too, Em.”<br/><br/>Emily grins back at her then squeals as she’s suddenly taken into Bow’s arms, thrown into the air, and caught against Bow’s chest. “And I love all three of you beautiful women in my life!” Bow exclaims as he proceeds to squeeze the life out of his daughter, all the while she’s laughing.<br/><br/>Adora chuckles at the sight but her eyes drift over to the woman who has been occupying her head for the past couple of weeks. She frowns when she notices the slump to Catra’s shoulders, her ears drooping and her tail curling around her thigh limply. She’s running a hand through her curls, face pinched in worry.<br/><br/>The blonde frowns further as Catra looks over towards Finn playing in the field with her brows furrowed then keeps talking on the phone.<br/><br/>“Everything okay?” Glimmer’s voice makes Adora more concerned.<br/><br/>“I don’t know.”<br/><br/>Glimmer places a hand on Adora’s shoulder and squeezes. “I know you don’t know each other all that well and that I give you crap about your crush on her, but I think you should check on her. It doesn’t look good, whatever it is.”<br/><br/>Adora breathes a sigh of relief, grateful Glimmer’s words justify her wanting to take action and help out the brunette. She stands, walking over to Catra slowly, with enough heaviness in her steps that she knows the feline has to hear her approaching. <br/><br/>The call seems to be over by the time she reaches her and Catra is putting her phone away. Her posture hasn’t changed at all, but she still turns to her, suddenly dull eyes staring up at her.<br/><br/>“Hey, Adora,”<br/><br/>Wincing slightly at the grave tone in her voice, Adora takes a step closer. “Hey, is everything okay?”<br/><br/>Catra closes her eyes, takes a deep, shuttering breath, and tries to regain her composure. When she opens her eyes again, they’re watery and she’s biting her lower lip. <br/><br/>Adora swallows at the sight, aching heart in her throat, “Listen, I know we don’t know each other very well and you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to but I’m here for you. So, uh – ” She raises her arms a bit and shrugs. “Do you want a hug?”<br/><br/>Catra stares at her arms blankly then searches her face for something. Adora tries to look sympathetic because while she doesn’t know the details about Catra’s life, she knows what sorrow looks like and she’s ready to help however Catra will let her.<br/><br/>The brunette slowly, carefully walks into her embrace, hands coming up to rest behind Adora’s shoulder blades and nose tucking into her neck. Adora curls around her, arms wrapping around her back and holding her close. <br/><br/>Soon enough, she can feel hot tears staining her neck and shoulder. Catra’s shoulders are shaking but her crying is silent. Claws are digging into her shoulder blades and her hands are trembling. This only makes Adora hold her tighter.<br/><br/>Adora happens to glance up towards the fields, only to lock eyes with another blue gaze. Finn has stopped running around and is staring at them, tail lashing wildly behind them and ears pointing back in confusion and worry. It looks like they’re ready to start walking over to the two but Adora shakes her head softly.<br/><br/>She sends them a thumbs up while her other hand starts rubbing down Catra’s back. The blonde also smiles reassuringly at the kitten and signals for them to keep playing.<br/><br/>Finn is hesitant, ears swiveling forward and ready to take another step towards the two, but the coach calls for them to go back to the game. With Adora nodding once more at them, Finn turns back around to continue playing but without the same energy as before.<br/><br/>After what feels like forever but is actually less than five minutes, Catra sniffles and leans away from the embrace. She reaches up to wipe her tears as Adora’s hands fall uselessly to her side.<br/><br/>“Thanks and sorry about crying all over your shirt.”<br/><br/>Adora shrugs, placing her hands inside her pockets. “It’s alright. I offered.” Her blue eyes search the Magicat’s face. “Are you, uh, feeling better?”<br/><br/>Catra shakes her head, arms coming up to wrap around her waist. “I honestly don’t know how I feel.” She glances up at Adora and sighs, ears swiveling down and back. “Do you mind if I…talk about it for a bit? I’d call Scorpia but I know she’s in a session and Perfuma is working so I don’t wanna bother her.”<br/><br/>Adora blinks, only a little surprised that she’s opening up to her and nods. “Yeah, anything you need.”<br/><br/>Catra takes a deep breath, eyes falling to the ground. “My parents and uncle died in a car accident while I was at school and I didn’t have anyone to take care of me, so I went into the system when I was six.”<br/><br/>Adora clenched her jaw in order to keep from reacting, hoping that her face stayed neutral and open. She couldn’t imagine not having anyone there for her. Even after her parents died, she still had grandma Razz and Mara, even if she was a continent away.<br/><br/>Catra continues, now staring at a point behind Adora’s shoulder. “It was hard for the first year. I kept going from home to home. People thought that just because I looked like a kitten, that I was only a kitten. Whenever they thought I would act out or was too human to take care of, they’d send me right back.”<br/><br/>Slowly, pieces started to form into an image in her head and Adora’s eyes stray over to Finn, gaze landing on their nicked ear.<br/><br/>“Finally, I landed with this lady named Sharron Weaver. She fostered me until I aged out of the system and graduated high school. She was mean, and manipulative, and abusive, and I’m still going to therapy for all the shit that woman put me through, even though I’ve been out of her grasp for almost a decade.”<br/><br/>Adora sees Catra grip onto herself tighter and close her eyes. She wants to reach out, to keep comforting her but something tells her that physical touch right at this moment might be unwelcome. So, she keeps quiet and lets Catra continue.<br/><br/>“I haven’t been in contact with her for over three years now, but I guess I was still her emergency contact. That was the hospital from back home. They called to tell me she, uh, she had a heart attack at home. She’s gone.” The last word is whispered, hoarse, as if it took her last will to say. <br/><br/>Catra starts curling in on herself again and Adora is worried she’s gonna collapse so she wraps her arms around her again to keep her up and steady. The brunette tucks herself into her embrace again, nosing at her pulse.<br/><br/>Adora knows there’s nothing that could comfort her right know. Losing a guardian, no matter how shitty they were, is still hard and she doesn’t wish that on anyone. Adam had been inconsolable when their parents died, lashing out at everything and anything that caused even the smallest inconvenience. Mara had retreated into herself and Adora herself had taken on anything that could take her mind off the pain, be it sports or school.<br/><br/>All unhealthy coping mechanisms but family therapy made it better over the years.<br/><br/>She does the only thing she knows how to.<br/><br/>Focus on what’s next.  <br/><br/>“What are you gonna do? What’s the next step?”<br/><br/>Catra heaves a deep breath and shudders on the exhale. “I don’t know. I can’t do anything until Monday when Finn starts in their new school. God, even when dying, the bitch still has terrible timing.”<br/><br/>Adora doesn’t know how to respond to that one so she makes no comment. <br/><br/>Her eyes stray towards the blonde kitten, who is still throwing worried glances their way. “Are you gonna tell them? I could talk to the coach, make sure they don’t – ”<br/><br/>Catra tenses in her grasp and pulls away abruptly, tail lashing as she takes a few steps back. “No.” Her voice is angry, spitting pure venom in that single word.<br/><br/>Adora takes a step back in her surprise at the sudden fury in her gold and blue stare. She raises her palms slightly, eyes travelling between the two hybrids.<br/><br/>After a moment, Catra seems to regain her composure and slumps. “I’m sorry, that was out of line. It’s just that – “ Catra looks over her shoulder to steal a glance at her kid with a sigh. “Finn doesn’t know about her. I kept them as far away from her as possible. They don’t need someone like her in their life.”<br/><br/>Adora nods, jamming her hands in her pockets. She frowns and stares over to the fields. “I know what it feels like to lose parents. I was ten when my mom and dad died. It doesn’t get easy, missing them and wishing they were here. But the ache does get quieter. It’ll always be there but it won’t be as loud with time.”<br/><br/>Catra turns back to stare at her jawline blankly and nods after a moment. “She was horrible, the worst guardian I’ve ever had. But she still raised me, gave me a roof over my head and food on most nights, sent me to school and let me do extracurriculars.”<br/><br/>Adora knows that just because someone provides you with material needs, doesn’t mean they care about you. Which is something that is proven to ring true at the feline’s next words.<br/><br/>“At home was a whole other story.”<br/><br/>Catra locks eyes with her again, watery orbs staring straight into Adora’s aching soul. “She was terrible so why does it still hurt?” <br/><br/>Adora doesn’t know what to do. She’s not good at feelings, that’s usually Bow’s specialty. She tends to push down her emotions until she can’t hold it in anymore and it all just kind of bursts out in the worst of moments. She also doesn’t know how Catra takes comfort. She’s let her hug her twice now but this last time, she pulled away and Adora doesn’t want to push her. <br/><br/>The silence between them stretches on. Catra seems to be looking for answers Adora’s not sure she has. The blonde doesn’t know how to proceed, how to help her in a way that’s not overstepping the boundaries between them as acquaintances. <br/><br/>Because that’s all they are right now. Just people who have casually met on a couple of occasions and know simple facts about each other, no matter how much she wishes it weren’t true.<br/><br/>Adora looks around Catra’s shoulder and sees Finn jogging up to them, the game behind them having reached halftime. She straightens just as the kitten reaches them.<br/><br/>“Ma?” They look up at Catra, who blinks her tears away and reaches down to smooth a hand over Finn’s head. “Are you okay?” They ask, voice worried and blue eyes blinking up at her.<br/><br/>Catra hums and scratches behind their ears, receiving a hesitant purr in return. “I’m okay, kitten. Don’t you worry about a thing.” She looks up to Adora and smiles softly, almost apologetically. <br/><br/>But there’s nothing to apologize for, so Adora smiles back just as gently. <br/><br/>Finn still looks worried, eyes shifting between the two adults and their tail lashing. <br/><br/>Adora feels bad. Catra obviously does not want Finn to know about this Weaver woman. But Finn is staring intently at them, more specifically at Adora. They’re almost glaring at her, Adora assumes they think she’s hurt Catra in some way. <br/><br/>She finds their overprotectiveness cute, but it’s definitely not needed. If it were up to her, Adora would take both of them, wrap them up in her safe arms and take them away somewhere she knows they’ll be okay.<br/><br/><em>‘Huh, that’s new.’</em><br/><br/>Either way, with how Catra seems to be fighting to control her emotions around Finn, Adora thinks they shouldn’t be left alone right now.<br/><br/>“Hey,” Adora starts, reaching up to rub at the back of her neck. Two pairs of eyes look up at her and she’s suddenly lost all nerve but keeps pushing through. “So, we all usually go eat ice cream after games. Do you want to join? My treat.”<br/><br/>Catra raises a single eyebrow in confusion but Adora is more focused on Finn’s suddenly wagging tail and standing ears. They’re still looking at her apprehensively, but she definitely caught their attention.<br/><br/>“We would love to but we’re lactose intolerant.” Humor dances behind Catra’s eyes as she watches Finn’s shoulders slump at the reminder.<br/><br/>Adora huff a small laugh, “It’s okay. We can switch it up for a day. How do burgers sound?”<br/><br/>Finn springs right back. “With fries?” They’re jumping on the balls of the paws, their bright blue eyes staring up at their mother pleadingly.<br/><br/>Catra laughs and smooths a hand over their small mane. “Well, looks like you’ve discovered Finn’s weakness. Sure, we’ll join.”<br/><br/>Finn lets out a cheer, grinning up their thanks at Adora before getting called back to the game by the coach. <br/><br/>Adora watches Catra gaze after Finn, tenderness and affection shinning in her eyes. <br/><br/>That’s when Adora makes two vows to herself.<br/><br/>To never let the sadness and fury of a horrible childhood overcome that happiness inside Catra. <br/><br/>And to make sure Finn only ever sees their mother being happy.<br/><br/>She’ll buy all the fries in the world before she lets that happen.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everybody! Sorry for the long wait. The plan was to post on Adora Day since I had most of this written already but obviously that didn't happen. The last bit of this chapter, I'm not too happy about and it was what I was struggling the most with. But if I don't post it is as, it might never get posted so here it is! </p>
<p>I hope you enjoy Adora and Finn Bonding Time!</p>
<p>CW: a very small section of this chapter deals with misgendering. It's brief and it gets taken care of pretty quickly but please be careful if it's something that bothers you!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adora is not one for taking breaks. She works 8am to 7pm every Monday through Friday at the office then takes her work home. She tries to drop in on her little projects all around Bright Moon on the weekends if nothing is too pressing with office work – when she took over, she hadn’t imagined doing half the amount of paperwork she does, but she guesses it comes with the territory. <br/><br/>Spinnerella is a great secretary; very reliable, organized and most of the time knows what Adora wants before she even thinks about it. But if it were up to Adora, she’d probably end up doing Spinnerella’s work for her, just to not inconvenience her, even though she’s literally paying her to help her.<br/><br/>Glimmer calls her a workaholic.<br/><br/>Adora just thinks she’s a determined hard worker.<br/><br/>Bow ended up having an intervention about a year ago where he somehow convinced Entrapta to delete all of the access her company ID had to her building for two weeks and changed her password on her all of her work accounts. He effectively cut her off from working for two weeks straight and threatened to do it again if he ever saw her pushing herself again.<br/><br/>Safe to say, weekends are now definitely treasured within their friend group. It’s when all three of them get to spend time with the kids and each other, and their respective parents. They’ll take trips once a month to go visit Bow’s dads down in Thaymor or go west to the Whispering Woods to visit grandma Razz.<br/><br/>She doesn’t spend all of her time with them, though. Saturday afternoons are spent with the Anders-Akiyama family, after Glimmer and Bow usually have a family breakfast with their kids and Angel has practice – sometimes Adora feels a little intrusive so she won’t accompany them in the mornings, despite all their reassurances that she’s also part of the family. <br/><br/>Sundays are spent with the rest of the Grayskull siblings. Adam is engaged to his college girlfriend Teela and Mara is always tagging along for the ride. The four of them love going up to Mystacor and relaxing at the beach, though the twins usually end up in some competition or another.<br/><br/>So, yeah, Adora thinks she has this whole work-life balance thing down. <br/><br/>Imagine her surprise when life decides to throw her a curveball in the shape of two magicats.<br/><br/>In the two months since they’ve met, Adora has attended every single Saturday soccer practice with Bow and Glimmer. They’ll meet up with Catra and Finn and watch the kids play. Afterwards, they all go out for lunch and Adora sometimes sneaks extra fries to a purring Finn, to Catra’s amused dismay. If the tattoo shop isn’t too busy, Scorpia sometimes joins them for lunch.<br/><br/>The only weekend Adora has not seen Catra was the weekend after she got the news that her foster mother had died. Scorpia had instead taken Finn to soccer practice. Surprisingly, it had been the blonde kitten who had sought them out that weekend, practically running to Adora’s side and proudly showing of their new rainbow colored claw caps and paw arch bindings.<br/><br/>Adora’s heart had melted at that moment, and the two have been inseparable since then. <br/><br/>Another development is that Catra and Adora now text each other regularly. Sometimes it’s serious stuff, like Adora checking in to make sure that Catra is okay after she came back from Freight City and to let her know if she needs anything. <br/><br/>In contrast, Catra pretty quickly catches onto the fact that Adora sometimes tends to miss lunch or dinner if she’s working too hard so she’ll text her sometimes to make sure she’s eaten that day. Most of the time, though, it’s conversations about trivial things, getting to know each other better. Finn is also a huge conversation topic.<br/><br/>Finn, who one day decided it was a good idea to steal Catra’s phone and video call Adora while she was at work just to tell her that they got their first 100% of the semester, fangs glinting as they grinned and held up their test for her to see.<br/><br/>Catra had tried to take her phone back but Finn only bounced right off her shoulders and climbed onto the rafters in their home, running on all fours up and down the small obstacle course the two Magicats have in their living room. The laughter that ensued as mother chased child around the house had echoed in the blonde’s head for the rest of the evening, a small grin plastered to her face.<br/><br/>Since then, calls between them happen on the regular with Finn initiating some of them – they like to show off, Adora’s come to realize, and so they always call through video. <br/><br/>The fast development of this friendship is something Adora did not anticipate. The level of intimacy she has with Catra, though it’s rare that they delve into super deep topics, is a level that Bow and Glimmer had achieved after many months of friendship. <br/><br/>In some ways, Adora feels like she’s known Catra all of her life, and that terrifies her. <br/><br/>But she wouldn’t be who she is if she didn’t dive headfirst into this. Which is why Adora answers the call that comes through from Catra that day, even if she didn’t receive the usual ‘Can I call?’ text beforehand.<br/><br/>“Hello?”<br/><br/>“Hey, Adora? I didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?”<br/><br/>Adora looks down at the documents she was in the middle of reading and the half-eaten lunch she had pushed to the side about an hour ago, “No, not at all. What’s up?”<br/><br/>There’s a shuffling noise on the other side of the line followed by the sound of a door closing. “Listen, I know it’s last minute and I really wouldn’t be asking if you weren’t the only person I trust.”<br/><br/>At those words, Adora straightens up in her seat, absentmindedly reaching over to pull her laptop towards herself to look at her schedule. “Hey, it’s okay. What’s going on?”<br/><br/>Catra exhales sharply, frustration lacing her next words. “I have a client scheduled at 2:30 for a back session that’s supposed to last for a couple of hours. Lonnie was supposed to go pick up Finn from school and take them home, but she and Rogelio had to go to the hospital with Rogelio’s mom. Kyle is at his other job and Scorpia is out of town with Perfuma.” <br/><br/>The magicat pauses, takes a deep breath then sighs deeply. “Finn gets off school in an hour. My client is from out of town, otherwise I’d reschedule. Is there any chance you could pick them up for me and watch them for the evening? I’d pay you back, for sure. It’s just that…you’re the only one I trust Finn with.”<br/><br/>Despite how urgent the situation seems for Catra, Adora can’t help but feel warmth blossom in her chest. The magicat is reaching out to her for help, and she trusts her with her kid, who Adora knows means the absolute world to Catra. Adora also cares for Finn so much, so this is a favor she’d have no problem in doing.<br/><br/>“Catra,” Adora starts softly, hoping to calm the distraught woman. “Of course, I’ll watch over Finn. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”<br/><br/>“Really? I know you’re busy with CEO things so it’s okay – “<br/><br/>“All I have for today is paperwork and a meeting I can easily reschedule. It’s okay, I can pick up Finn.” Just as she’s saying this, she’s messaging Spinnerella to page her media director to reschedule their meeting for next week and to clear her schedule for the rest of the day. She gets an affirmative and grins. “Done, I’m free for the rest of the day.”<br/><br/>Catra lets out a small laugh, clearly relieved. “You’re amazing. I will pay you back, no problem.”<br/><br/>Adora shakes her head, “No, there’s nothing to pay back. Consider this just a friend helping you out.”<br/><br/>“A friend. Right.” Catra is quiet for a moment then clears her throat. “I’m gonna go ahead and call the school to let them know you’re coming. You’ll have to pick Finn up from the front office. They’ll probably ask for an ID to make sure it’s you.”<br/><br/>“Okay, cool. You said school lets out in an hour, right? I’ll be there.”<br/><br/>Catra is silent again but once she speaks, Adora can hear the smile in her voice. “Thanks again, Adora. You’re a life saver.”<br/><br/>Adora chuckles, a blush adorning her cheeks. “Don’t mention it. You’d do the same for me.”<br/><br/>“Hmm, I’m gonna let you go. I’ll text you if anything changes.”<br/><br/>“Alright, bye.”<br/><br/>“Bye, Adora.”<br/><br/>The blonde hangs up, grin in place and leans back in her chair. <br/><br/>Catra trusts her. She reached out to her for help. She gets to spend a whole evening with Finn then see Catra when she comes to pick them up.<br/><br/>Wait.<br/><br/>Adora abruptly sits up, eyes wide in horror. She’s gonna be with Finn all day, which means she has to feed them. She has absolutely no idea what magicats can or can’t eat. And she can’t just feed the kid fries all day.<br/><br/>Time for research.<br/><br/><strong>x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x<br/><br/></strong>Catra texts her the details of where to pick up Finn after the phone call. Adora pulls up to the school an hour later and walks into the building towards the office, bypassing all the kids climbing into their parents’ cars or forming lines for the school buses. She texts Catra really quick to let her know she's at the school and walks inside.<br/><br/>Her eyes land to the small circle of children towards the back of the room waiting for their guardians to show up. No Finn there so she looks around the room. She finds Finn further away, their ears downturned as they talk to an adult. <br/><br/>Adora walks towards the pair, smiling when they both turn to look at her. Finn’s ears shoot straight up and the slump in their shoulders disappears, tail starting to flick. <br/><br/>“Adora?”<br/><br/>“Hey, kid. How‘s it going?”<br/><br/>Finn eyes her for a second then leans over to look behind her. When they see no one else, they begin to slump again. “Where’s Ma’ or Lonnie?”<br/><br/>Adora reaches up to rub the back of her neck. “Lonnie couldn’t come, and your mom is stuck at the shop. She asked me to come pick you up and hang out with you until she can get you.” She sees them still be a bit skeptical, so she gives them a small grin. “I have a pretty big backyard. We can play a game or two.”<br/><br/>Their tail seems to wag with a bit more force at the mention of soccer. “Can we get fries on the way?”<br/><br/>Adora huffs a laugh, “I suppose we can stop for a snack.”<br/><br/>Finn grins brightly up at her. “Okay!” They start padding  towards her, backpack slung over their shoulder.<br/><br/>The adult, who Adora assumes is the secretary, watches them with a smile then turns to walk them over to her desk. She asks for Adora’s ID then starts inputting her information on her computer. “You know,” she starts, grabbing Adora’s attention. “It’s so nice to see how many people Finn has to look after him.”<br/><br/>Adora’s smile freezes, her blood starting to turn cold at the words she just heard. She glances down at Finn, who’s ears are swiveling down and back, eyes staring a hole into the desk. She looks back up to the secretary and clenches her jaw.<br/><br/>“I’m sorry, what?”<br/><br/>The secretary pauses her typing and looks up to the blonde. “Oh. I know Finn’s mom has weird hours so it’s nice to see how many people are willing to come pick him up for her. You’re the fourth person registered to get him.”<br/><br/>Adora’s jaw works back and forth, taking a deep breath to calm her sudden burst of anger. She lays a comforting hand on Finn’s shoulder, their head perking up at the touch.<br/><br/>“Them, you mean.”<br/><br/>The secretary shoots her a confused look. “Excuse me?”<br/><br/>The blonde takes another breath, and her gaze sharpens just slightly. “Finn uses they/them pronouns. I know it’s been noted, as it’s a clarification that was made when Catra enrolled them.” <br/><br/>Adora remembers Catra telling her all about how hard it was choosing a school for Finn when they first moved to Bright Moon. How even though there were plenty of schools closer to where they lived, this one was more inclusive when it came to both hybrid restrictions and other preferences or identities.</p>
<p>“So, please make sure the staff at this school knows to refer to Finn as they say.”<br/><br/>The secretary falters, eyes falling to Finn. The magicat takes a step back, hiding behind Adora’s leg. Adora shields Finn further from her eyes by stepping closer to the desk. As someone who is fiercely protective of the people she loves, Adora decides to lay down some rules.<br/><br/>“If I hear of anyone in this school’s staff referring to Finn incorrectly, the school district will be hearing from my lawyer in Bright Moon Sports Complex.”<br/><br/>The secretary flinches back at this. She glances between her computer screen, the ID and the blonde’s face before her eyes widen. “Wait, you’re <em>Adora Grayskull</em>?”<br/><br/>Adora eyes her ID still placed on the desk, takes it back and straightens to her full height. “Yes. Do I make myself clear or do I have to call my law team?”<br/><br/>The secretary shakes her head vigorously. “No. I’ll pass the message along.”<br/><br/>“We’d appreciate it. Now come on, Finn, we got some fries calling our names.”<br/><br/>Finn stares at them both for a moment before turning to walk out of the office, Adora falling into place behind them. She sees their tail wagging and ears are standing up straight again, mood visibly better. <br/><br/>Adora leads them over to her car and opens the back door for them, throwing their backpack on the other side then bowing. She gestures dramatically into the car. “My liege,” she says in a deeper voice, pulling a giggle from the kitten.<br/><br/>Finn grins and leaps into their seat, wiggling a little as Adora does their seatbelt. She doesn’t have a booster seat so she’s crossing both side seatbelts around them. Once done, Adora reaches up and ruffles their hair, getting a “Hey!” in return.<br/><br/>The car ride is quiet for the first few minutes, Adora letting Finn explore the space with their eyes. She can see their tail flicking rapidly and alert eyes roaming. She’s also pretty sure she hears purring but it’s too low for her to actually distinguish.<br/><br/>At a red light, Adora glances through her rearview mirror, only to lock eyes with Finn. They grin at her, but their ears droop down. <br/><br/>“Thank you. For earlier. It’s hard to hear them calling me wrong.”<br/><br/>Adora’s jaw clenches at the words and the soft way they’re spoken. Her protective instincts may have gotten the best of her in the office, but she’d gladly do it again if it meant Finn could feel like themselves while getting an education. The very small, tiny part of her that feels kind of guilty for pushing boundaries that she’s not sure should be crossed – she may be friends with Catra, but Finn is <em>her</em> kid – goes silent at seeing Finn’s sparkling eyes.<br/><br/>Hell, for this kid, she’ll burn down the school if she has to.<br/><br/>She won’t.<br/><br/>She would.<br/><br/>Without hesitation.<br/><br/>But she won’t. <br/><br/>“It was no biggie. If they do it again, I want you to call me and tell me, okay? If it’s a teacher, or the secretary or the nurse, if any adult doesn’t treat you with respect, you tell me.”<br/><br/>“Okay.” Finn tilts their head to the side slightly, stares for a bit then shrugs. “Ma’ tried to talk to them before. They don’t really listen sometimes.”<br/><br/>“I’ll talk to your mom, don’t worry. It’s gonna be okay.” The light turns green, but she doesn’t go until she sees Finn nod, their tail thumping hard against the seat. <br/><br/>“So, besides fries, what’s your favorite food?” <br/><br/>The answer was immediate. “Tuna!”<br/><br/>“Are you cool with tuna pasta for dinner?” She grins when she hears Finn’s tail thumping harder and faster, taking that as answer enough.<br/><br/><strong><em>x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x<br/></em></strong><br/>“Hey! Come back here, you little rascal!” Adora runs after Finn, who is surprisingly very quick and agile for their age. They manage to jump through her arms as she goes to grab them then they run on all fours towards the single tree in her backyard. <br/><br/>Finn launches themselves off the small swing hanging from the tree and up into the higher branches. They sit down and grin down at the older blonde, cackling.<br/><br/>“Hey, Adora! Try to catch me up here!”<br/><br/>Adora laughs as she gazes up at the kitten. It’s been a long time since she’s climbed a tree and she doesn’t think she can get up to where Finn is sitting without getting hurt in the process. She’s not too worried about Finn being all the way up in the tree. Catra’s told her all about how much they both love to climb and has shown her pictures of heights they’ve been to. The blonde doesn’t think she’d be able to handle even half of those heights without passing out, so she knows Finn is perfectly fine up where they are.<br/><br/>The only thing is that it’s approaching dinnertime and she needs to cook for them. <br/><br/>As soon as the two had made it to Adora’s house, the kid had wanted to explore her home. She gave them the grand tour of the three-bedroom house – they were particularly taken with her room, enjoying the plush pillows on the bed and scent marking them. The tour ended in the backyard. There, they had spent the next hour and a half playing soccer or chasing each other around.<br/><br/>Turns out the kid had been storing so much energy during school that the moment they could let it out, there was no stopping them.<br/><br/>“Adora! Come on! You’re even slower than Ma’!”<br/><br/>Adora would love to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening playing around with Finn but she needs to make dinner. They also need to do homework. Adora doesn’t need Catra thinking all they did was play and no work. She’d very much want to spend another solo day with Finn.<br/><br/>So, it’s time to round them up.<br/><br/>“I think that if I were to even attempt to climb this tree, you’d have to drive me to the emergency room.” Adora grins up at them when they laugh at her joke. She throws a thumb over her shoulder towards her house. “How about I start cooking dinner while you do schoolwork then once we’re done, we can eat and watch a movie until your mom comes to pick you up?”<br/><br/>Finn tilts their head in thought and hums. Adora marvels at how similar they are to Catra, despite really only being with her for a little over three years.<br/><br/>“Will there be popcorn?”<br/><br/>“Lots.”<br/><br/>“Can we watch the movie in that really big tv you have?”<br/><br/>“There’s nowhere else I’d rather watch it.”<br/><br/>“Can I pick the movie?”<br/><br/>“Sure but I get veto rights.”<br/><br/>Finn grins down at her. “Deal!” They sit up on a crouch and Adora only has less than a second to panic before they’re launching themselves down at her. She raises her arms just in time to catch them against her chest, taking two steps back to stop the momentum. Adora looks down at them in bewilderment.<br/><br/>Finn just giggles and nuzzles into her, a strong purr rumbling from their chest. Adora shakes her head in amusement and turns to carry them into the house.<br/><br/>Later, Adora is boiling the pasta and Finn is sitting on her island with their books spread out in a semicircle around them. She keeps stealing glances at them, smiling as they poke their little tongue out in concentration as they haunch over their book.<br/><br/>Adora is glad she’s gotten practice in taking care of kids with Angel and Emily. She occasionally takes care of them whenever Bow and Glimmer want to go on a date night. They stay the night with her, and she gets to spoil them however she wants. <br/><br/>Obviously, she’s had to adjust some things, like how she talks to Finn and carries conversations with them, because they’re older. But she’s been able to keep up with them and they seem to be comfortable around her, so she thinks she’s doing a decent job. <br/><br/>Finn grunts all of a sudden and Adora turns to them just in time to see them shove a book off their lap and lay on their back dramatically. Stifling a laugh, she leans against the counter and crosses her arms. “You okay there, Finn?”<br/><br/>Their ears swivel towards her but they keep staring at the ceiling in dismay. “I hate math.” They wave a hand towards their books and sigh. “Ma’ usually helps me with math homework because I can’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense to me when she’s not here to explain it.”<br/><br/>Adora smiles gently, uncrossing her arms and walking over to grab the book. Taking a quick glance at the contents, she playfully pokes the kitten’s side with the spine of the book. <br/><br/>“Well, I’m sure I can’t explain it as well as Catra can, but I can give it a try, if you want.” <br/><br/>Finn sits up on their elbows, eyes narrowing on her and head tilting to the side. <br/><br/>Adora has noticed they tend to do that a lot, studying her quietly and contemplating her. She doesn’t know what it means but she hopes that she aces whatever test they seem to be putting her through.<br/><br/>“Okay,” they say softly, sitting up fully and grabbing the book from her hands. Adora beams and turns to lower the temperature on the pots, washes her hands and grabs a pencil from one of the drawers.<br/><br/>“Alright, so, what do you understand about multiplying?”<br/><br/><strong><em>x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x<br/></em></strong><br/>After about an hour and a half of solving math problems, almost burning dinner and having a small eating competition, the two blondes sit down at the couch. Adora is looking for the requested movie to put it on – “I like frogs! Do you have the Princess and the Frog movie?” – while Finn is dumping a whole bag of popcorn into a bowl.<br/><br/>Once the movie is on, Adora reaches over to steal some popcorn from the kitten, getting a playful hiss for her trouble. She ruffles their hair in return and the popcorn is forgotten as Finn launches themselves at her, curling around her shoulders and nibling softly at her upper arms.<br/><br/>Adora laughs and reaches up to grab them by the back of their shirt and bring them into her arms. She crushes them against her chest, a small yelp leaving their lips as they struggle in her grip. <br/><br/>After a moment, she loosens her grip, but the kitten stays right where they’re at. Finn wiggles a bit in her lap then leans against her, curling up into a ball with their tail twinning around her forearm. <br/><br/>Adora feels her chest burst with warmth as she stares down at them. To think their friendship has come such a long way from that first day where they had accidentally kicked a ball into her stomach and were struggling to apologize, to now as Finn kneads at her thighs while purring. <br/><br/>It’s been a slow process but the little magicat is slowly trusting her more and more. Adora can’t help but feel like it’s one of the biggest accomplishments she’s ever gotten.<br/><br/>Adora feels her phone buzz and she takes it out to see that Catra has texted her. A simple ‘<em>I’m out, on my way’</em> has her heart pumping a little faster. She texts back that she left the front door open and settles back into the couch. Finn moves as she does, wiggling further into her as they watch the movie.<br/><br/>It doesn’t take long but the next time Adora looks down from her work emails on her phone, she sees Finn is out cold. A purr escapes them every once in a while, and their tail has gone slack from the grip around Adora’s arm. She abandons her phone in order to rub at Finn’s ears, who unconsciously moves into the touch. <br/><br/>The blonde hears her front door open and cranes her neck to look at the door. She sees Catra walking in, ears peeled back as she looks around. Their eyes meet and Adora sends her a small smile. Catra’s ears perk up and she smiles back, closing the door behind her.<br/><br/>Catra starts heading to Adora, who shakes her head and gestures towards the kitchen. “I’m sure you’re tired and hungry,” she says quietly, knowing Catra can hear her despite her low volume. “There’s food on the counter if you want. It should still be warm.”<br/><br/>Catra blinks at her in surprise then smiles gently. “Thank you,” she says then ducks into the kitchen to serve herself some dinner. <br/><br/>Adora grins to herself and looks down at Finn, continuing to pet at their head softly. She hears the soft clink of Catra moving around in the kitchen and the low volume of the movie playing in the background along with the low lighting of the room. She feels her chest tighten and her heart in her throat.<br/><br/>She wants this.<br/><br/>She really wants this. <br/><br/>Adora had never really gotten what Glimmer and Bow would keep saying about how having a family of her own would change her perspective on a lot of things. She’s always prided herself in being focused on her work, whether in school or in her career, and so willing to do anything in her power in order to succeed in everything she did.<br/><br/>But sitting here, finally relaxing after who knows how long, with Finn’s paws occasionally pressing down on her thighs and Catra making her way over to sit down by her with food she had made for them all, makes Adora realize that work isn’t really all there is to life. <br/><br/>Subconsciously, she’s always known that work isn’t everything, but she’s never really allowed herself to want something like this. Not to the point that she’s getting emotional over some cuddles and providing food for someone else.<br/><br/>Adora takes a deep breath and is able to compose herself enough when she feels the couch dip as Catra sits down with a bowl of food. She watches as the other woman sits with her legs tucked underneath her and leans on the arm of the couch.<br/><br/>Catra takes a bite of the food and groans, slumping back into the couch dramatically. “Mmm, I haven’t eaten since right after I called you this afternoon. This feels like heaven.” She turns to look at Adora, eyes falling on her kid. A smile lights up her features. “I see you two have gotten close.”<br/><br/>Adora chuckles and scratches at Finn’s head. “They’ve been chasing me around all day. I’m surprised it took them this long to pass out.”<br/><br/>Catra hums as she takes another bite of food. “I’m very surprised they passed out at all. Finn’s not good at feeling comfortable in new places, especially if I’m not there. They must really trust you.” <br/><br/>Adora thinks back to all of the times the kitten has just stopped to examine her. Maybe they were determining if she was someone trustworthy or someone who they know they’re safe around. If so, then today has had more meaning to them both than previously thought.<br/><br/>The older magicat puts her now empty bowl on the coffee table in front of them and leans back into the couch, reaching over to swipe a thumb down Finn’s cheek. <br/><br/>It seems that smelling their mother nearby causes Finn to stir a bit, sniffing the air and ears swiveling around. Their eyes open just the slightest bit to take in their surroundings before they fall on their mother. Catra smiles at them, says a soft, “Hey there, kitten,” and smooths a hand down the kitten’s head.<br/><br/>“Hiya, Ma’,” Finn uncurls from Adora’s lap and crawls over to Catra, laying their head on her thighs and nuzzling in close to her stomach. “You’re here.”<br/><br/>“I am. Were you good for Adora today?”<br/><br/>Finn only hums in reply, little feet hooking around one of Adora’s thighs in order to still be in contact with her. Adora grins, meeting Catra’s eyes as the kid falls right back to sleep.<br/><br/>Catra huffs out a small laugh and pets down their head slowly, stopping to scratch at the base of their ears. Adora trails the outline of the paw pads in front of her, silently agreeing in bestowing the kid in pets.<br/><br/>“I’m glad they trust you,” the brunette says after a moment, fingers gently tracing over the nicked ear in her hands. “They need people who can keep them safe.”<br/><br/>Adora turns her full attention to Catra, confusion marring her face slightly. “I’m glad, too. Every kid needs someone they feel safe with.”<br/><br/>Catra shakes her head slightly and reaches to scratch just under Finn’s chin, where Adora can now see a very faint scar, barely visible but still there.<br/><br/>“Finn is…different. They went into the foster system very early in life. The one and only foster guardian they had before I adopted them was very…particular about fostering hybrids. He ran an illegal underground rink where hybrids fought each other. Finn was trained to fight at the age of three.”<br/><br/>Adora stares at Catra in disbelief. She knows hybrids aren’t treated the same as humans and even within the hybrid community, certain species are more mistreated than others. But having <em>kids</em> fight illegally? At the age of three? Her eyes fall onto the nicked ear Catra was rubbing and she clenches her jaw.<br/><br/>Her arms unconsciously wrap around Finn’s feet protectively. She stares deep into Catra’s eyes, feeling rage and sorrow rolling through her stomach as the thought of letting Finn out of her sight now.<br/><br/>Catra sees her reaction and relaxes a bit, tension dropping from her shoulders. “My friend Entrapta works as a crime analysist and she helped bust the dude. When she told me about how a kitten magicat had been raised in a fighting rink for a little less than two years, I knew I had to do something.”<br/><br/>Catra shifts, grabbing onto Finn and bringing them further onto her lap, wrapping her arms around them and holding them against her chest. She rubs her cheek against their forehead – scent marking, Adora remembers, from when Finn did it to her pillow, which makes more sense to her now – and Finn lets out a small mewl, curling into her neck and returning the favor in their sleep.<br/><br/>“It took a couple of months and a lot of patience but eventually, I was able to adopt them. Finn took a long time to adjust to living a normal magicat life because they were so <em>feral</em>. I also wasn’t the best example, as my own foster guardian sucked in bringing me up, and we both made mistakes along the way. It was a slow process, but they finally accepted me as their parent, and I believe adopting them was the best decision I’ve ever made.”<br/><br/>Adora takes a deep breath and blows it out as she takes a moment to think. This is certainly something she’s gonna be thinking about for a long time. Her heart aches for what Finn had had to go through, at such a young age, too. But there’s definitely one thing she’s certain about, and that’s how much the kid loves and looks up to Catra. <br/><br/>The blonde reaches out and runs her thumb across Catra’s wrist gently. “All day, that kid has not been able to stop talking about you. They’ve said how much you stand up for them, how much you help them with school and how much you spend time with them.”<br/><br/>Catra starts smiling at her, which only emboldens Adora to move closer and wrap her arm around her shoulders, reaching to pet Finn’s tail with the other hand. <br/><br/>“I’ve seen how much you care for them and how well you’ve helped acclimate them to society after all they’ve been through. You’re an amazing mom, Catra, and I don’t think Finn would’ve been the great kid they are today if it wasn’t for you.”<br/><br/>Catra huffs a small laugh, blinking her eyes rapidly to get rid of her unshed tears and lets her head fall onto Adora’s shoulder. “Thanks, Adora. That means a lot.” She nuzzles into her shoulder, finally relaxing after a long day. “How was it today with the kid?”<br/><br/>Adora, with her heart beating super fast now that she notices their positioning and how <em>homey</em> the conversation has turned, chuckles nervously. “It was good. Helped Finn with their homework. They really struggle with math.”<br/><br/>The awake magicat hums. “Yeah, it’s the only subject they really can’t seem to get, no matter how hard they try.”<br/><br/>“I know Perfuma’s non-profit has some tutoring if you’re interested in that. Or I could help if it gets to be too much. It took a little bit, but we were able to get it down today.”<br/><br/>Catra lifts her head a bit to look up at the blonde. “You’d be willing to watch over Finn again?”<br/><br/>Adora smiles down at her, thumb rubbing at her shoulder soothingly. “Yeah. We had fun today. I’m always here to help you out, Catra. With whatever you may need.”<br/><br/>Those mismatched eyes stare right into her blues for a long time. Adora can see where Finn got their calculating gaze from. Finally, Catra lays her head back on her shoulder.<br/><br/>“If you wanted to schedule a play date, all you had to do was ask.”<br/><br/>Adora rolls her eyes playfully, shrugging the one shoulder to rustle Catra slightly. Catra grumbles at that but nuzzles further into her shoulder. <br/><br/>“Finn’s Gotcha-Day is in two weeks.” Catra mumbles into her neck. Adora lays her head on hers, marvels at the fact that this is the most prolonged contact they have ever had, and grins at the words.<br/><br/>“Yeah? Have anything planned?”<br/><br/>“We usually hunker down at home and build forts all night long and watch movies but they have friends now, so I don’t really know.”<br/><br/>Adora tightens her grip around her in comfort. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”<br/><br/>“Definitely. Wanna come? The Sparkles family came come, too.”<br/><br/>Adora beams down at Catra. After today, there is absolutely nothing that will stand in the way of trying to become a permanent fixture in the magicat family.<br/><br/>“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know it says it's Adora's POV in the tags but next chapter is all about Catra and Finn. Adora will most probably make an appearance but it's mostly centered around Finn and Catra.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading! I see your comments and kudos and I appreciate you all! I'm just an awkward human person and don't know how to social correctly but I love you all!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Finn,”<br/><br/>An ear twitches towards her voice but otherwise, there’s no indication that they’ve heard her.<br/><br/>“Finn.”<br/><br/>Their shoulders start to slump but there’s still no answer and sky-blue eyes are still glued to the box.<br/><br/>“Finley D’riluth, you know what I’m going to say.” Catra crosses her arms and stares down at her kid. Finn sighs dramatically and finally tears their eyes from the sugary cereal box to look up at her.<br/><br/>“But Ma’! I never get to have any sugar!”<br/><br/>Catra raises an eyebrow, “That is an exaggeration. Plenty of the things you eat have sugar, but these types of sugars give you a tummy ache.”<br/><br/>“It’s worth it!”<br/><br/>The brunette laughs and ruffles their hair, earning herself an indignant huff. “You won’t be saying that when I find you on the toilet at two in the morning.”<br/><br/>Finn scrunches up their nose cutely then leaps into the cart, careful not to step on their groceries. Once situated, Catra begins pushing the cart away. She giggles to herself when she sees the kitten staring back at the cereal boxes longingly. <br/><br/>“Come on, if we hurry, we can go to Adora’s house faster.”<br/><br/>At the mention of the older blonde, Finn’s tail starts flicking rapidly and they look up at her. “We’re going to see Adora?”<br/><br/>“Yup. We’re having dinner and watching a movie tonight.”<br/><br/>“Can we play in her backyard? It’s really big and it has a tree swing!”<br/><br/>“If she’s okay with it, yes.”<br/><br/>Finn leaps from the end of the cart to the child seat and reaches down to Catra’s shorts pockets. “I’ll call her and ask!”<br/><br/>Catra laughs and moves her hips away from their reach. She stops walking and takes her phone out, holding it away from the blonde.<br/><br/>“Finn, what have we talked about manners and personal space?”<br/><br/>The kitten huffs and crosses their arms, sitting cross-legged in the child seat of the cart. “Always ask for consent if you’re getting really close to someone, no matter who it is.” Their voice comes out monotone, as if they’ve heard this a million times before.<br/><br/>Which they have. <br/><br/>But having Scorpia as a godmother – who is very, <em>very</em> touchy-feely herself, to Catra’s lifelong dismay – doesn’t really help the rule stick sometimes. <br/><br/>“And?” Catra continues, waving her phone in front of their face playfully.<br/><br/>Finn groans, “Can I <em>please</em> use your phone to call Adora?” They decide to turn on the charm, eyes getting really big and lips pouting. “Pretty please? I’ll be nice for the rest of the time we’re in the store.”<br/><br/>The brunette chuckles in amusement, not believing what she’s hearing. “Oh, I see we’re bribing now. I know I have my moments but that smells suspiciously like DT.”<br/><br/>At the mention of their other godparent, Finn grins and stands on the seat. “DT said they’re gonna be in another movie soon. Have they said which one yet?”<br/><br/>Wow, what a way to divert the subject. <br/><br/>Catra shakes her head and hands over her phone. “Not yet. I’ll text them tonight to see if you can call them tomorrow.”<br/><br/>“Okay!” Finn sits back down, phone in hand and Catra starts walking them again. She watches as they go about looking for Adora’s contact info and smiles gently.<br/><br/>Meeting Adora and spending time with her has been one of the most recent highlights in their lives. Unforeseen but she was grateful to have someone as reliable as the blonde in her life. <br/><br/>For only having known each other for almost three months, Adora has already become a very important person in both Catra and Finn’s day-to-day activities. The adults text all the time and will have the occasional phone call. Whenever Finn has something super important to say, they’ll call Adora and can be on the phone with her for hours if left to their own devices. <br/><br/>Adora does nothing to discourage them, even if she’s very busy herself. In fact, Adora seems just as happy to spend hours on the phone with Finn as they are. Catra didn’t really see this coming from someone as stable and organized as Adora but that woman is such a dork and can keep up with Finn with little issue.<br/><br/>It’s very obvious that Adora cares deeply for Finn, despite only knowing them for such a short time.<br/><br/>Catra thinks back to what Adora told her what had happened at school after she had picked up Finn from her house two weeks ago. The blonde had been ready throw down and call her law team in order to investigate the school. Catra had been able to divert that, thankfully. A quick call to the school had confirmed that, yes, they’ll be more respectful now. Adora insists her threat worked but Catra isn’t about to confirm or deny it.<br/><br/>While Catra had it handled and would’ve razed hell on the school district herself if Finn had told her how the school had still refused to address them correctly, it was nice knowing someone like Adora was in their corner and willing to help.<br/><br/>Either way, Finn hasn’t said anything negative about the school since. Catra doesn’t know if she wants to pinch or kiss the smug smirk off Adora’s face every time it comes up.<br/><br/>Which has been kind of a problem lately. The chemistry and tension the two of them have is off the charts. Catra isn’t dumb; she’s seen the way Adora sometimes looks at her. It’s as if there’s nothing else in the whole universe that could shine brighter than her.<br/><br/>Catra’s has never been stared at like that by anyone else before. It fills her with warmth and elation but also fear and anxiety. She hasn’t dated anyone since her early college days, years before Finn became her entire world. <br/><br/>She never had the time before, not with her studies and apprenticeship and part time jobs. Then there was Finn, and she’s been hesitant to bring anyone into her life as a potential partner, only for the relationship not to work and unbalancing both of their lives in the process.<br/><br/>So, what if when she walked into Adora’s house two weeks ago, and saw Finn and Adora all curled up together on the couch, her heart clenched longingly? So, what if every time her phone lights up and it shows Adora’s name, she gets butterflies in her stomach?<br/><br/>Catra isn’t going to do anything about it. Not now, not when she has Finn to worry about, not when she’s still getting her bearings here in Bright Moon. <br/><br/>“Adora! Hi!” Finn’s excited greeting snaps Catra out of her thoughts and she looks down to see Finn has video called Adora, who grins right back at them.<br/><br/>“Finn! Hello!” The older blonde gives a little wave. Catra can see the big, shiny cabinets of her kitchen behind her. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your wonderful face?”<br/><br/>Finn giggles and Catra feels her heart swell. “Is it true we’re going to your house later?”<br/><br/>Adora pouts a little. “Aww, did Catra spoil your surprise already?”<br/><br/>Catra, a little offended, leans into view of her camera. “That’s rude, Grayskull. Maybe we shouldn’t go <em>have dinner and watch a movie</em> with you, after all.” She pauses and a smirk lights up her face, eyes closing halfway. “Then again, you’d miss us too much, huh, Adora?”<br/><br/>The blonde on the other side of the phone splutters, face turning a shade resembling a tomato. Catra feels her stomach tumble at the reaction and her stare becomes less flirty, a fond expression on her face as Adora tries to compose herself.<br/><br/>Eh, there’s no harm in some flirting.<br/><br/>Finn gasps dramatically and shakes their head at her, snapping them both out of their bubble. “No! Ma’, we gotta go!” They look down at the phone, getting really close to the camera. “Adora, I really wanna play in your backyard again.”<br/><br/>“Well, kid, that’s up to your mom.”<br/><br/>“But she said it’s up to you!”<br/><br/>Adora pauses to rub at her chin, thinking, and Catra has never really found jawlines to be her thing but here she is, being proven wrong.<br/><br/>“If your mom is okay with it, then I’m down.” At those words, Finn immediately whirls towards Catra, who sighs. <br/><br/>“Fine – “<br/><br/>“Yes!”<br/><br/>“But! Only for a little while, otherwise, you’ll be too tired to watch the movie.”<br/><br/>“Okay! Adora, can we play hide and seek again?”<br/><br/>Adora laughs and adjusts the camera, leaning her phone against something so she has both hands free, and placing her chin in her hands. “Okay, but no cheating this time!”<br/><br/>Finn looks slightly offended and Catra marvels at the ease of how they interact with Adora.<br/><br/>They took a long time to even look her in the eyes after she met them. It was like pulling teeth getting them to talk to her beyond single worded answers. She didn’t dare try to initiate any type of physical contact because they were so defensive and scared.<br/><br/>Seeing Finn the first time after they had been rescued from that rink had broken her heart. Right ear recently bandaged where they had been wounded during that last fight. Smaller bandages all over their tiny, five year old face. Red stains almost like rust on their finger pads acting as evidence of what they had to do in order to survive.<br/><br/>Catra had decided the moment she laid eyes on them that they were hers, no matter what the state or government or laws said. They were hers and she was gonna do everything in her power to take them home.<br/><br/>It took multiple visits, many hours just sitting in either silence or her just talking about anything she could come up with – which was really hard at that time, seeing as she wasn’t the most sociable person back then – before Finn slowly started opening up.<br/><br/>One day, Catra was forcing a purr because Finn was very tense, eyes flitting everywhere, claws digging into the flooring underneath them and tail twitching. She wanted them to relax, and the moment Finn heard her, all they could do was stare at her, pupils dilated, and awe written all over their face. Apparently, they had never heard someone purr before, and they had never done it themselves. <br/><br/>So, it started with questions, mostly about their species, which was understandable as magicats are very rare on the continent of Etheria so the chances of them meeting another are very slim. The only problem was that Catra wasn’t all that knowledgeable about magicats either, so she promised them that whatever doubts they had, they would both find out together.<br/><br/>That had certainly made Finn open up more and four visits later, they were coming home with her, adoption papers gripped in their tiny claws.<br/><br/>Seeing Finn interact so joyously with someone they had met only three months prior made Catra realize that the kid, <em>her kitten</em>, has grown up from that distrusting, scared child into this ray of sunshine.<br/><br/>Who still really needs to learn manners.<br/><br/>But they have a lifetime for that.<br/><br/>Catra stops walking right in front of an aisle filled with toys then gently reaches over and plucks the phone from Finn’s hands. “Okay, kitten, you know the drill. Let’s leave Adora to it and go choose your thing.”<br/><br/>Finn pouts for a moment then glances down the aisle, tail thudding against the cart. They look back at the brunette, pupils dilated. “Anything I want?”<br/><br/>“As long as you can carry it on your own.”<br/><br/>Finn perks up and stands, leaning over to look down at the phone. “Bye, Adora! I’m gonna get a cool toy and show it to you later!”<br/><br/>“Awesome! I’ll see you later, squirt.” Finn crinkles their nose at the nickname Adora has started using for them then leaps out of the cart, running on all fours down the aisle.<br/><br/>Catra watches them carefully until they come to a stop in front of some chew toys – she should probably get them some more as they should start teething soon – then turns to her phone. “How is everything going?”<br/><br/>Adora grins at her and gives her a thumbs up. “It’s all good so far. You’re okay to come over before dinner.”<br/><br/>Catra nods, smiling. “Thank you for doing this, Adora. I appreciate it.”<br/><br/>“It’s no problem. Anything for the kid.” It looks like Adora wants to say more but a crash coming from the phone has them both flinching. The blonde looks away from her screen to focus on whatever just happened and winces as a loud cry starts up. “Uh, I think I need to go.”<br/><br/>“Yeah, that doesn’t sound too good.”<br/><br/>“I don’t know what – Is that a raccoon?!”<br/><br/>“Uh–“<br/><br/>“Okay, yeah, I gotta go. I’ll see you both tonight.”<br/><br/>“Of course. Bye, Adora–“<br/><br/>“Angel, get away from that – Glimmer! Your children!”<br/><br/>Catra cackles as the call ends, sending a quick message to Adora to update her on the <em>raccoon</em> thing then follows Finn into the aisle.<br/><br/>x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x- x<br/><br/>Finn runs into their small house, arms loaded with groceries and a chew toy in their mouth. Catra follows at a more decent pace, locking her car and front door before heading to the kitchen. Finn is already unloading their items, stocking the pantry with the canned food, which is probably their favorite part of shopping. They claim they like to stack up the cans but Catra thinks it’s an excuse to hide in the pantry closet.<br/><br/>Once groceries are put away and Finn has eaten a few reheated leftover fish sticks, they turn to do their favorite hobby together: napping.<br/><br/>Catra lets Finn pick the spot, watching fondly as they grab two bean bags and drag them across the living room to the window near the tv, where a beam of sun is showering their carpet.<br/><br/>Finn kneads at the bean bags, fluffing them to their standards then curls up on top of them. Catra smiles down at her kitten and pads around them, laying down behind them and curling her body around theirs.<br/><br/>Finn immediately starts purring in contentment, headbutting into her chest and kneading at her arms that are now wrapped around them.<br/><br/>They both lay in silence, ears occasionally twitching towards muffled sounds from outside. They lay there long enough that Catra thinks Finn is asleep when she feels their tail start to flick rapidly.<br/><br/>That’s usually a sign of excitement or nervousness, Catra knows so she’s a little worried now.<br/><br/>It doesn’t take Finn long to decide to voice their thoughts.<br/><br/>“Ma’?”<br/><br/>“Yes, kitten?”<br/><br/>Finn’s shoulders scrunch up a bit but otherwise, they don’t move. “Do you like Adora?”<br/><br/>Catra blinks in confusion at the question but powers through. “Yeah, I like Adora. Do you like her?”<br/><br/>Finn turns around in her embrace and nods furiously. “Yes! I really, really like her.” They pause, eyebrows coming together in concentration before they grin up at her. “I think she likes me, too.”<br/><br/>Catra chuckles and pets down their hair. “I think she likes you, too.” She tilts her head and can’t deny how cute it is when Finn mimics her action. “Why do you ask?”<br/><br/>“I think you guys should get married.”<br/><br/>Catra startles at the bluntness of that statement. She is so unprepared for the topic that she sits up and looks down at the blonde. Finn blinks up at her.<br/><br/>“Where did you get that idea from?”<br/><br/>Finn also sits up, gesturing wildly with their hands as they speak. “Well, Angel said that his parents really liked each other and that’s why they got married. He said they really loved each other and are always happy.”<br/><br/>Finn’s ears droop, shoulders coming up to their chin. “I want you to be happy, Mama.”<br/><br/>Catra’s heart swells with emotion and she scoops her kitten into her arms, purring and nuzzling into them. “Oh, kitten, I am happy. I have you in my life, and Scorpia, and Perfuma and DT. I don’t need to marry anyone to be happy.”<br/><br/>Finn rubs their cheek against her shoulder roughly, unconsciously marking her, and looks up at her. “But I want you to be happier.”<br/><br/>Catra brings a hand up to the back of their head and scratches behind their ears. She thinks for a moment, searching for a way to explain to her child that relationships take immense amounts of work, especially relationships that are geared to end in marriages.<br/><br/>“Remember when we first met, and you didn’t trust me? It took a little while for you to open up and be my friend, right? Remember how we had to talk so much before you could come home with me?” At their nod, Catra smiles. “Well, it’s just like that with Adora. We really have to work on our friendship before we get even close to something as life-changing as marriage.”<br/><br/>“But aren’t you already really good friends?”<br/><br/>“We are but there’s a lot more to marriage than friendship. Adora and I aren’t at that level.”<br/><br/>“Like what?”<br/><br/>Catra knows Finn was going to start asking questions like these sooner or later. She also knows that they are surrounded by so many different types of people and lifestyles. She’s tried her to acclimate them and explain everything around them to the best of her ability.<br/><br/>However, none of her friends are married. Scorpia and Perfuma, despite being together for years, aren’t even engaged yet. Kyle, Rogelio and Lonnie live together, have joint back accounts and are inseparable but they’re not planning on ever getting married. Double Trouble does whatever the hell they want, and Entrapta has no romantic inclinations whatsoever.<br/><br/>Catra herself hasn’t dated anyone since before Finn came into the picture. <br/><br/>Really, Bow and Glimmer are truly the first glimpse at a happy marriage that Finn has ever had so it’s only natural that they’re asking questions and connecting dots between her and the only other friend she’s gotten really close to.<br/><br/>“Well,” she begins, laying down and adjusting Finn on top of her so they can lay their head on her chest and look up at her. “In order to get married, the people involved have to be friends, yes. But they also have to love each other very, very much. Being married might mean that people have to live together so they have to know that they can tolerate each other and live peacefully.”<br/><br/>Catra strokes Finn’s head lovingly, earning herself a content purr. “Being married means having a lot of rights and responsibilities being shared between people who love each other a lot. It’s one of the biggest decisions you make once you find that person or the people you want to spend the rest of your life with." <br/><br/>Finn hums, nuzzling into her wrist and wrapping their bushy tail around her other arm. “You decided to spend the rest of your life with me.” They point out, a too little smug for her liking, then they laugh when she licks their cheek.<br/><br/>“I did and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Catra tightens her grip on Finn. “I don’t think I’ll get married any time soon, Finn, but if I find that someone, you’ll be the first to know.”<br/><br/>Finn nods and decides they’re done with the topic because they go completely limp in their mother’s arms and settle in for a nap. But not before they make their true intentions clear.<br/><br/>“I still think you should marry Adora. Then we’d have a backyard swing.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oops, here I was thinking it'd only take five chapters to finish this but this one was getting too long and it didn't even get to the main event soooo I guess you're getting one more chapter! This chapter was supposed to be the only one in Catra's POV but since I'm adding one more, we'll see if that remains to be true!</p><p>Thanks for all the kudos, bookmarks and comments! I see them all and they all brighten my days! Till next time!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Adora is me whenever a girl interacts with me or I go get a tattoo.</p>
<p>This has been living in my head rent free for a while now. I'm not usually one for kid fics but this is really all I think about nowadays. So enjoy the short but sweet journey of Adora falling in love with both Catra and Finn.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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